Gone
by moonlightariaXIII
Summary: COMPLETE! Saya copes with Hagi's 'death'... Set between the events at the Met and the return to Okinawa. Breakdowns abound. *edited* Epilogue up. Part 1: What has Hagi been up to? Part 2: Nathan's story/Hagi's return to Okinawa.
1. Chapter 1

Oky day. Since people liked my other story, I figured I'd do another one^^ This one's gonna be a little different than my last one. I'll explain in the author note at the bottom, I don't want to ruin the story.

Btw, I'll be using names of Japanese songs that I like for chapter titles. This one is 'Koishikute' by UVERworld. Each song will have some sort of connection to the chapter, so it really helps if you know the translation. If you want to know I can send it to you, or you can look it up, whatever floats your boat. You sould be able to see the connection...

**edit** wow, i was reading back through this and i saw some typoes so i thought i would fix them^^

I don't own Blood+....

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**Gone**

Chapter 1: Koishikute

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_Il est allé…_

_Kare wa shindeiru desu…_

The battle was over. Diva and her Chevaliers were finally dead. There would be no more fighting. She could finally live in peace the way they had always hoped for but never imagined possible. All that remained was to escape before the Military's Option D was carried out.

She was with friends but still, she felt completely alone… Empty. Because the friend that meant the most was not with them.

Throughout their journey she had endured many losses: Joel, Roman in Petrograd, David's father in Vietnam, her father George, her little brother, Riku, her second Chevalier… But this loss hurt worse than it all combined.

Why? Why did he do that? She could have done it herself, kill Amshel. But he did it for her. He shouldered her final burden. And it had cost him his life.

"_Anata wo aishite imasu, Saya."_

That was why… because he loved her.

How could she have not realized it sooner? It was painfully obvious now.

She should have told him. Told him she loved him, too. But she didn't. All she could manage she could manage to give him was a kiss. One kiss. For that one moment, it was just the two of them. A wonderful few seconds that, after over a hundred years of waiting, felt as wonderful as an eternity together. She was still tingling all over from it, despite everything…

"Let me go, Kai! I have to help him!" With a pained scream, she fought against restricting arms. It was useless.

Kai, with Lulu's help, restrained her in the back seat of Lewis' car as they drove away from the collapsing opera house.

Damn Kai! Damn him for not letting her help. She could have gotten him out before the bombs had hit. It didn't matter that she was tired, that her impending hibernation was hanging over her head. And if not, at least she would die with _him_.

"Saya, it's too late." A sad reply.

No, she couldn't be mad at Kai. He only wanted to help. He was doing as he was asked.

"Kai, onegai…" She whispered, her remaining strength was quickly vanishing. She felt her conscious slipping.

All she could do now was watch helplessly through the back window of the speeding car at the shrinking view of the Metropolitan Opera House. Away from the man she loved with all her heart. Away from everything that mattered.

The bombs hit and the remains of the of the once beautiful structure erupted into flames.

The ominous red glow reflected off the streaming tears covering her cheeks, her eye lids becoming heavy.

The car slowed to turn a corner.

"_Hagi_." She breathed, ears ringing, unsure if the sound even left her lips or if his name is simply reverberating in her head. Her view of the inferno was obscured by a building.

_He_ is _gone_!

Her eyes closed and she knew no more…

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**A/N:** So there you have it. This is gonna be about a depressed Saya.

I was wondering how Saya took Hagi's "death" (we all know he didn't really die^^ he's been through far worse) at the end of the series and this is what came into my head.

I usually stick with romace and fluff and the like, so this is my first crack at a sad-ish story, it's more depressing than anything really (to me anyways). I'm hoping to write a few more chapters for this thing. When its done it'll be about 4 chapters 5 at the most.

I'm gonna change things up a little bit. Nothing drastic. The show will still end the same as before. I'll explain it more next chapter.

If you like it, leave a review. It'll make my brain work faster;)


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry it took so long. Here's the second chapter.

The title for this chapter is the song 'Yakusoku' by Hitomi Takahashi (a personal favorite of mine^^).

I just can't see Saya taking thaking Hagi's death so easily as she did in the anime.

Now, on to Saya's depression.

*edit* revised

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Chapter 2: Yakusoku

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When they had reached the apartment, Saya had still been unconscious. Lulu had placed in her bed while Julia prepared an IV treatment. The others had followed, concerned she had finally slipped into her deep slumber. The trouble started when Julia went to hook the IV into Saya's arm.

Saya's eyes snapped open, glowing an angry shade of red. Her lips pulled back, exposing her elongated fangs and she let loose a guttural snarl that had all of them shivering and backing away in terror.

David pulled his revolver from under his coat, as Kai pulled Mao behind him. Lewis and Okamura had rushed to the door to see what had happened. They all jumped to the same conclusion, Saya had snapped. Would it be a repeat of Vietnam?

Only Lulu hadn't moved.

"Saya, don't." She said softly, her sad, streaming eyes locked on the young woman before them.

Saya was crouched, rigid and growling, ready to pounce. At Lulu's voice she froze, her face quickly changing from fierce to utter shock. Then it scrunched up, she gave a cry of immense pain and she fell back on the bed and curled into a ball, sobbing.

**---**

That had been a week ago. One whole week.

She was still laying in her bed. She wouldn't get up. She barely moved. She hadn't said a word. She'd shut down.

"She still hasn't eaten anything. And she won't allow me to hook her up to a blood drip. She won't last much longer like this, David." Julia was updating the men, whom were gathered in the living room, on Saya's condition. "I don't like it any better than you, Kai." She added seeing the look on the young man's face.

Kai had been out with David, Lewis, and Okamura, collecting information on the fallout from the Met from the local police and Military insiders that were more than willing to talk if the price was right, as well as from Archer, Lewis' contact. But more than intelligence gathering, they had been on a recovery expedition.

"Did you find out anything?" Mao asked, casting a quick glance towards the hall way leading to Saya's room.

"Our men on the inside were able to confirm that the crystallized remains of the chiropterans found in the rubble were that of Diva and Amshel." David answered her.

"What about… Hagi?" Julia asked timidly.

"Still nothing." Lewis answered her.

"There should have been something. There should have been a body!" David growled. "And Saya's sword was made from the strongest steel in the world. Even after the fire, it should have still been there!"

"Maybe someone stole it." Okamura offered a possible explanation. "I wouldn't put it past some of these punk kids roaming the streets."

"Or those damn Military rats. They're dying to cover this up." Kai added angrily.

"Still there should have been some sign of Hagi."

"He's not dead…" Lulu called quietly from her seat on the floor near the hall. She had been watching Saya, but had wanted to hear the update and so had positioned herself to do both.

Everyone looked to her sadly. Of course she would try to convince herself of that, for Saya's sake and her own. No one wanted to believe it.

"There's no way he could have survived that. If it had just been the building collapsing maybe, but no chiropteran can survive a fire like that. And on top of that he had lost way too much blood."

"Either way, we can wait a few more days. Maybe then Saya will return to normal. Regardless, we will be returning to Japan at the end of the week." David put an end to the discussion.

Lulu rolled her eyes and looked to the window across the room. "He's not dead…" She repeated too softly for them to hear.

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A constant flow of silent tears. Whether she was awake or asleep, they never stopped. She was afraid to move, afraid to speak. Afraid something would remind her of _him_.

It wasn't really helping. She was awake, so she was constantly thinking. Sleeping was not any better, because then she dreamed, wonderful dreams she wanted more than anything to be real but knew they never would be.

She wished she would just die. That he had kept that promise.

The promise… It had been the cause of this in the first place. If she hadn't asked him to make that promise, they could have escaped before Amshel had attacked. _Maybe, if I hadn't asked him to kill me, he would have said something sooner… _

But he wouldn't have wanted to have put that burden on her, of knowing how he felt. _It wouldn't have been a burden. It would have been another reason to keep fighting, to keep living. _

He had given her a reason to want to live. And for a fleeting moment she believed they would finally get their long-ago wish, to be happy, with a real family, and they could see the world, for fun instead of fighting. And just like that, it had been taken away.

She couldn't even do anything to help. _The one time he needed me, I couldn't do anything to help._

She closed her eyes. _I'm useless. I'm better off dead and alone. _

She rolled over and opened her eyes. _I don't remember hearing her return._ Lulu was sitting beside the bed in a chair. Watching. Just like…

_He deserved better than me, anyways. I've caused him nothing but pain since the day we met. He's in a better place now. Away from me. He can finally rest._

Her breathing hitched and the tears increased in intensity.

Lulu leaned closer to the sobbing girl. She placed her small hand on Saya's hair. "Go ahead. Let it out."

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**A/N:** I decided that I would have the group hang out in New York for another week, well 2 actually but this is gonna be just the events of the second week. Partially to let Saya 'recover' and also to give Hagi a little time to come back. Not so much the latter since, they all think he's dead.

Chapter 3 should be up now, too. Let the FUN begin *evil laughter*^^


	3. Chapter 3

This was originally a part of chapter 2, but I decided to split it up. Too much stuff was happening. Now! On to the fun part!

The title is from 'Ame no Tsubu, Waltz ~LOVE MUSiC~' by Ai Otsuka. I chose this because when Saya fights it's almost like a dance.

*edited*

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Chapter 3: Ame no Tsubu, Waltz

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She realized she had finally stopped crying. She lifted her head to look around the room. Given how dim the room was it was safe to assume it was early evening. The apartment seemed awfully quiet.

_There's really no point in laying here. It isn't doing any good. _She sat up. That was when she heard voices.

"Is she _still_ crying?" It was Mao.

"Iie, she quit about 2 this morning. That's when she fell asleep. How would you react if you lost someone you'd been with for over a hundred years?" Lulu.

They must have been in the living room.

"She's just making it harder on herself. It's the same as when she wouldn't tell anyone about her 30 year sleep. She's making everybody worry. Kai's about to go crazy. Crying isn't going to bring him back."

"If you think that then you don't know Hagi very well."

Saya's breath caught at the sound of his name.

"Neither do you! I've known him longer than you have! I don't see him here now!" Mao argued.

"That's irrelevant," came Lulu's calm retort. "I met him before you did. Even then I could see his dedication to Saya. He took on seven of us Schiff to protect her and he would have won if Ghee hadn't gone off on his own after Saya and distracted him. The only reason he isn't here now is because something is delaying him, he'll be here as soon as he can. He wouldn't hurt Saya that way."

"Looks to me like he is. If he loved her as much as you say then nothing should stop him from getting here. He probably lied. If he did survive, he probably faked his death so he could get away from Saya. She's better off with out him."

"Mao. That isn't something Hagi would do."

Saya hadn't comprehend any of Lulu's words to Mao. All she heard were the words from Mao's mouth. She was seeing red. Mao was talking bad about Hagi. That was unacceptable. _Unforgivable! _Her feet made a thunk as they hit the floor.

Lulu was in the room in a second. "Saya you're up! We were so worried! The guy's left to see if they could find out anything about the Military's cover up. And Julia-san went with Joel-sama to get more supplies to last another day or two. So it's just me and Mao."

_Mao._ Saya growled. She looked up at Lulu, eyes aglow.

"Saya?"

Saya lifted her arm and grasped the lamp on the bedside table. And promptly flung it into the wall across the room.

Standing up she kicked the table, crushing it. Saya reached above the bed and ripped the picture frame from the wall, smashing it on the floor. Then she was before the wardrobe pulling it from the wall onto the floor.

Stunned, Lulu could only stand and watch as Saya proceeded to destroy the other lamp and table.

"What the hell is going on!?"

Saya halted her war path long enough to turn to the doorway where Mao stood just inside the room, gaping in shock.

Saya sneered, and appeared at the foot of the bed, where she grasped the frame and commenced to toss it at the human girl. Mao let out a surprised squeek.

It didn't move. Saya looked to the head of the bed where Lulu stood. She had taken hold of the head board, holding it in place.

"Saya, stop." Lulu pleaded.

Saya hissed at the young girl then returned her murderous gaze back to Mao.

Mao had since retreated from the room, her back against the wall across the hall. She gasped and ran towards the living room, to the front door.

Saya easily cut her off before the girl had even made it half way across the living room.

Baring her glistening fangs, she crouched low, preparing for the kill.

She sprang. And hit the floor. Tackled by Lulu. The two Chiropteran females rolled across the floor, hisses and growls emitting from Saya's throat. Lulu successfully pinned Saya down, locking her wrists in a steel grip.

"Stop!" Lulu begged, tears welling up in her green eyes as she tried to hold the Queen still.

Saya snarled. She managed to work her leg between them and kick the girl in the stomach, sending her small frame flying into the back of the couch. Saya jumped to her feet. And froze.

_Dare ga… _A stranger stood before her. Her thin face and delicate pale limbs were accentuated by her matted jet black hair and fiery red eyes. There were dark splotches on her skin. Saya tilted her head and the stranger mimicked her action. Realization dawned. _That's… me? _Saya had caught her reflection in the glass balcony door. _I look awful! No wonder they were worried._ Then her eyes landed on her attire. The tattered and torn pink evening gown she had worn to the Opera still draped her body. That wasn't what held her attention. It was the stains dried into the remains of the once lovely dress that stopped her cold.

_Blood… My blood and… Hagi's blood… _

A piercing scream filled the room. Mao covered her ears and backed into the wall. Lulu watched Saya questionably, positioning herself between the two.

"IIE!" Tears ran down Saya's cheeks as she backed away from her reflection. "Get it off me!" She grasped at her dress and tried to rip it from her body.

Lulu had her locked in place in a second. "Calm down! Daijobu."

They both sank to the floor. Saya buried her face in Lulu's shoulder and sobbed loudly. "Why!? Why'd he have to die? He didn't do anything wrong. That _IDIOT_!" She punched the floor.

Minutes later no one had moved from their spot. Slightly composed, Saya pulled away from Lulu and looked at the floor in shame, "I don't know what came over me. Gomen ne, Jahana-san. I tried to hurt you. And you, too, Lulu."

"Hey, I'm fine! No harm done." Lulu chirped, smiling.

"It's okay." Mao agreed, but Saya could hear the terror still in her voice.

"I…" Saya was interrupted by a grumble from her stomach. She blushed.

Lulu laughed, and even Mao smirked. "You must be really hungry to want to eat that scrawny thing!" Lulu poked her thumb at Mao.

"Hey!"

Saya's lips twitched into a small smile.

"We'll go fix you something more tasty in the kitchen. You take it easy." Lulu ordered. She pulled Saya to her feet and walking over to Mao.

"'Kay. I'll… go take a shower." Saya turned and wobbled down the hall to the bathroom.

She heard Lulu chide Mao as they headed towards the kitchen.

"She left a damn dent in the floor!" Mao exclaimed angrily.

"It's your fault for making her mad. You shouldn't have said that about Hagi."

"It got her out of bed didn't it? You know damn well I didn't mean a word I said earlier."

"Was it worth you almost getting eaten?" Lulu giggled.

"Shut it!"

Saya smiled sadly as she shut the door behind her. Mao had only said those things because she had been concerned for her. She hadn't meant it. And Saya had tried to kill her. She shivered and proceeded to undress.

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Draped in a towel Saya ventured back to her room. Pausing when she entered, examining the damage.

"Yeah, that's going to be embarrassing to explain." She made her way over to the over-turned wardrobe which had mysteriously been returned to it's up-right position. _Lulu. She must have done it while I was in the shower._ She opened its doors.

After putting on her underwear and a simple pair of shorts and was reaching back into the wardrobe for a shirt when her eye caught an object laying on the floor next to her bed.

She hadn't noticed it until then. An ornately decorated coffin shaped box, hard as steel to protect a well-known and beloved cello. Atop the case were a plain white button down shirt and the tailored suit jacket Hagi had normally worn, neatly folded.

With a shaky breath she made her was over to them and sank to the floor. She lifted the shirt and pressed it to her face, taking in the sent. Rosin, blood, faintly of rose, and another pleasant sent she had no name for. She could never figure that out before, but that's what it smelled like. What Hagi smelled like. She lay the shirt aside and the jacket, and quietly unsnapped the clasps on the cello case, lifting the lid.

She brushed her fingers across the compartment which had once held her now missing sword, then her hand fell to the beautiful instrument. She ran her hand over the smooth body then across the strings. Leaning forward she laid her head against wood and whispered, "I miss you."

She stayed like that for a few moments, then feeling the tears coming again she raised up and closed the lid. She lifted Hagi's shirt and put it on. After she buttoned it she laughed at how big it was on her, the sleeves hanging well past her hands. She pulled the sleeves back slightly so she could put on his jacket. Standing to button it, it's coat tails were still dragging to floor.

She was buttoning the last button on the coat when it happened.

Hauntingly familiar, a child-like voice called out, "Sa-ya."

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A/N: Ooh, a cliffy! Who could it be? Haha

Who's to say Saya can't throw a Diva-hissy and break things. They are sisters after all. We saw what happened in Vietnam. Plus, how would you react if you were a half starved vampire and you heard your friend badmouthing your man?^^

The apartment in the show, and in the novel, didn't have a balcony but I gave it one. It needed one. And most apartments I've seen have them. ;P

Reviews are nice.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry it took so long. I haven't had much time to work on this this weekend, since I'm never home on weekends. I had almost half done by Thursday night but since then I've been in and out. So, hope you like-y^^

This chapter was very fun to write.

*edited*

'Kataritsugu Koto' by Hajime Chitose. The shows first ending, this song is just so beautiful and sad. I think is suites Saya very well.

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Chapter 4: Kataritsugu Koto

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"Sa-ya."

She gasped aloud at the sound of the voice. How long had it been since she had heard it? She looked behind her, no one. She twirled around, eyes landing on the doorway. There he stood.

He looked almost the same as before. Still wearing that funny looking outfit Joel had given him. Smiling like always.

"Nani? How are you here?" Saya asked in shock. "Riku?"

Riku grinned at her, warm brown eyes sparkling. "I'm here to see you! Why else would I be here?"

"But… but you died!" she took a step forward.

"You look so sad, Saya-neechan. Don't be! I'm not dead. I'm here aren't I?" He tilted his head with a laugh.

"Riku!" She ran to him and hugged him, his tousled chestnut hair, just slightly longer than before, tickled her cheek. _He's really here! _He hadn't been murdered by her sister. When she pulled away. "How? I saw you crystallize! Kai's necklace!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about neechan." With a serious face, Riku turned away and walked out the door into the hall.

"Wh… where are you going? Don't leave me." Saya called. Riku couldn't leave. He had to stay. Kai and the others would be happy to find he was still alive.

He turned to face her, smiling, clasping his hands behind him. "Are you coming or not?"

"Huh?" She came to the doorway.

"He's going to be sad if you don't hurry." He started walking towards the front door.

"He? He who?" Saya followed him slowly.

Riku opened the door and looked back at her. Scrunching his nose up and smiling, "Silly neechan! You know who!" He ran out the door.

"Hey! Wait!" She ran out after him.

He wasn't there. "Riku?"

"Over here!" He was at the other end of the hall, pushing the stairwell door open. "C'mon!"

She ran down the hall and paused before the now shut door. Her heart was pounding. _Why do I have this strange feeling?_ She shook it off and pushed the door open.

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"How long does it take to make scrambled eggs?" Lulu asked grumpily. Mao had already destroyed an omelet, and so had declared that Saya would like scrambled eggs better. Even though she didn't eat human food, Lulu thought it was a waste of ingredients, and Joel-sama's money. Besides Saya wouldn't have cared what it had looked like, that girl could eat anything. And she wouldn't even let her help.

"There! Done!" Mao said cheerily.

Lulu watched as she dumped the contents of the pan onto the plate next to the cold, charred black strips Mao had called 'bacon'. When Mao turned to the refrigerator Lulu poked the eggs. "Are they supposed to be hard like rocks?"

"Get your finger out of Saya's breakfast!" She swatted at the Schiff girl. She then poured a glass of milk, and returned the carton to its place.

"Hm? Did you hear something?" Lulu looked over her shoulder towards the main room.

"No."

Lulu shrugged it off. "Anyways, I thought breakfast was eaten in the morning. It's almost 7 o'clock at night." She rocked back and forth in her chair.

"Actually breakfast is the first meal of the day. And since Saya just woke up, this is what she gets." The girl answered as she sliced a grapefruit in half and added it to the plate. As she loaded the meal onto a tray she added. "Besides, it's the only thing I know how to cook."

Lulu just gave her an amused look. "Maybe we should have just ordered take-out…"

"Just take it to Saya!" She shoved the tray into Lulu's hands and ushered her out of the kitchen.

She grumbled to herself and snarled her nose at the food as she trooped down the hall to Saya's room.

"Here's breakfast!" Lulu called happily when she reached the door. Then whispered, "I'll find you something else if you want!"

When she received no reply she opened her eyes. The wardrobe doors were open. Saya wasn't there. She hadn't been in the bathroom, Lulu had passed it on the way.

"Saya?" _Maybe she's in the living room._ Lulu turned and made her way back down the hall to check. "Saya? You here?" She called looking around.

A loud clatter and the sound of breaking glass brought Mao out of the kitchen. Her hand were dripping and covered in soap bubbles. When she saw the mess on the floor she yelled, "It couldn't have been _that _bad!"

But Lulu wasn't looking at her or the mess. Her eyes were locked on the open front door. "Saya's gone!"

"Eh?" Mao followed her gaze. "Why didn't you stop her!?"

"She was already gone!" Lulu snapped back. "Call Kai and the others! I'll go look for her!" She called as she ran out the door.

Mao groaned in frustration and ran to the phone.

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_Where did she go?_ Lulu sniffed the air. Saya's sent was everywhere. She turned left, running down the hall. She turned another corner and came face to face with the 'Out of Order' sign still on the elevator shaft. _It's still broken._ If Saya had came here she would have had nowhere to go.

That left one other option.

Lulu turn and ran back. Towards the stair well.

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A whoosh of air hit her when the door open. Strange, that hadn't happened before. She looked around the small landing then walked to the metal rail, the door clicked closed behind her. Saya leaned over the rail and looked down, "Riku?"

"Up here! If you don't hurry, he'll leave."

She looked up and saw a light. On _the roof? _Feeling a little faint, she held onto the rail as she began to climb the stairs as fast as she could without falling down them. After one flight of stairs she called to her brother. "You keep saying 'he'. He who? Who's with you Riku?"

"Niisan of course! Who else would it be!" Riku called down to her.

Saya paused. "Kai? You've already seen him? Why didn't you tell me? What's he doing up here?"

"No silly! Not Kai-niichan! Niisan!"

"Niisan… I don't know who that is." She quickened her pace, eager to catch her brother. She couldn't allow the possibility of this 'niisan' person harming him.

"Yes you do!" A laughing contradiction. "You're going to make him really sad if you keep saying that!"

As she approached the top of the stair well she found the source of the light. Someone had left the door to the roof open.

Riku was nowhere to be seen. "Riku?"

"Out here!" He sounded far away.

Timidly, she stepped out onto the concrete surface. It was very cool on her bare feet. The sun had just set below the horizon giving the sky a strange, eerie glow.

Riku wasn't there. Saya walked around, searching. She was alone. Disheartened, she opened her mouth to call for her brother when she heard a light thud behind her. She turned to scold her brother for worrying her but her breath caught in her throat.

It wasn't Riku.

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Lulu slammed into the door, nearly knocking it off its hinges. She ignored the gust of air that hit her and immediately rushed to the rail to look down. She saw no one and sensed no humans in the immediate area so she jumped. Bounding from landing to landing, pausing for only a second to poke her head inside each doorway she passed, searching for any sign of Saya, until she reached the ground floor.

She burst out of the stairwell into the main entrance, startling a small group of people gathered there. They looked at the small girl, curiously.

She looked at them, frantic and demanding, "Have any of you seen a girl come through here? She's a bit taller than me, short black hair."

One man, he looked to be in his mid-twenties, was brave enough to answer the wild-eyed girls question. "Sorry kid, we've been here for a while and there hasn't been anyone go in or come out of this place, except you."

Lulu contemplated for a moment. Now that she had clamed down, she could sense the other girl's presence. Saya was still in the building, she hadn't left. So if Saya hadn't came down stairs that left one option. _Up? _There wasn't anything up stairs so why should Saya go there? The only thing above their floor besides two floors of more rooms was the roof.

_The roof…?_

Lulu's heart felt like it fell through the soles of her boots. She gasped in horror. "Oh no…"

"Are you okay?" the man asked, concerned about her sudden change in mood.

Lulu ignored him and ran, a little to fast for a human façade, back into the stairwell. After leaping up a few flights she became impatient and climbed the rail. She jumped up and gripped the rail on the next floor pulling herself up. She used her foot to launch herself into the air, soaring up to the railing on the next floor.

"SAYA!" she called.

She continued her climb, hoping she wasn't too late.

----------

Saya stared at the familiar figure before her. Shaking hands slowly rising to cover her trembling mouth. "Is it really you?" He looked the same. The same tall, lanky form she remembered adorned in a tattered bloody tuxedo, strong comforting arms, one claw-like the other soft flesh, the same long wavy brown tresses framing a thin face, pale in the extreme, and those eyes! Those same blue grey eyes that pierced through to her very soul. "Hagi?"

"Saya." the reply was quiet with an undertone of affection.

His voice! Oh, how she had missed hearing it. The familiar surge of warmth the sound caused was all confirmation she needed. "Y… You're alive!" She cried happily, tears welling up in her eyes. She wanted to run to him but her feet wouldn't move.

He gave her a sad look.

"I'm sorry! I wanted to come back for you, but Kai wouldn't let me."

"It was too dangerous for you in your condition. Kai was only trying to protect you. It was not your fault." He looked down at the concrete.

She couldn't argue with him. She had known it all along. "David-san and the others have been searching for you. We all thought you were d-dead." She shuddered at the word.

"I should not have came back. I will only cause you more pain by being here." He shook his head sadly.

"IIE! Don't leave me again! Please?" she cried taking a few steps towards him, her legs finally obeying. "It will hurt me even worse if you go away again! I've missed you so much!" Her tears fell down her cheeks. "I felt like I was dying. I… I wished that I _had _died."

He looked up at her, shock on his usually calm face. "Saya. Please do not say that."

She walked towards him, her arms reaching out to him like a small child but it didn't seem to bring any closer to him. "Then don't leave me. Ever. Please?"

His hopeful eyes gazed upon her face.

She walked towards him, wanting to wrap him in her arms but still, he seemed to be getting farther away with each step. "I wanted to tell you, before, but I… uh." She stopped to look down. She didn't remember a step being there. She stepped atop it and looked to him, only to find him before her, an arms length away.

_Saya! _A muffled sound. Like it came from underwater.

Did someone just call her name?

"I wanted to tell you... I love you, too, Hagi. I always have!"

_Saya! Saya don't! _

He smiled. A small shy smile like he had that night at the MET. "Saya." He opened his arms slightly to her.

She extended her arms up to embrace him, raising her foot to take the last step that would bring them together.

"SAYA! STOP!"

The world around her shattered.

It probably only took a few seconds but it seemed like hours passed.

Hagi broke like glass into millions of little shards. The ground before her vanished, and her foot came down on nothing but air.

Even though it seemed impossible, it felt as if her battered, broken, and barely beating heart was ripped apart.

She flung her arms back, desperate to regain her balance. She only succeeded in turning herself to face the building, her planted foot slipping form the ledge.

She only caught a glance of Lulu's horror stuck face as she streaked out exit of the stairwell onto the roof, before she fell below the ledge.

* * *

A/N: Darn, another cliffy.

The moral of this chapter… don't starve yourself till you hallucinate^^

Yup, it was all a hallucination. Poor Saya. I'm so mean to her. I'll try to make up for it next chapter, I'm not promising anything though.

I had Riku call Hagi 'Niisan' because in a sense, as Chevaliers, they are brothers. And it was they only way I could have Riku address him without telling Saya who it was.

And little Lulu. I just love her. I don't know about in the anime, but in the novel she's supposed to have a nose like a hound dog. It's not much compared to the 'gifts' the other Schiff had. I think she deserves more, so I'll be giving her a little something extra, more on that next chapter.

One more to go! I should get a bit done tomorrow since I'm supposed to be home most of the day. Hopefully it'll be up by Monday. If I'm lucky -_-

See ya then!


	5. Chapter 5

Here we go! Last chapter. I had to re-write a couple sections because I wasn't very happy with them, so that's why it took so long. Sorry.

I know normally a fall from this height wouldn't kill Saya but in the condition she's in at the moment (starving, depressed, lack of blood) it probably could, especially if she landed on her head. But then again, Saya does have a pretty thick skull… ^^

The title of this chapter is 'Your Love Song' by Angela Aki off her album Home. Words simply cannot express how beautiful this song is. One listen and I fell in love with it. It's JPop but the words are in English, that's Angie for ya.

*edited*

* * *

Chapter 5: Your Love Song

* * *

It felt as if time was moving in slow motion as the tip of her finger grazed the corner of the ledge that was escaping her reach. She closed her eyes and thought as loudly as she could one single word. _Sorry… _Wishing, willing everyone she loved to hear it and know that she had never meant to cause them pain. She wouldn't be able to apologize in person.

And then it sped up.

A steel shackle clasped around her wrist. She slammed into the brick wall of the building. Her head snapped back and she felt a trickle of something, blood or tears or both, running down her face, she didn't know. She opened her eyes.

Lulu was halfway over the edge herself, one small hand gripping the ledge, the other was clasped tightly around her wrist. A look of determination shinning in her eyes. "You didn't honestly think I was going to let you fall, did you?"

Saya's eyes blurred with tears. "Lulu."

The small Schiff grinned. And with that she effortlessly lifted Saya up so that she could climb back up onto the roof.

Saya sat and cried. Out of relief that Lulu had saved her, and out of sadness that it had all been a dream and that she had almost, _almost!, _been able to join Hagi.

"That's a pretty nasty cut there."

She jumped in surprise.

Lulu had sat beside her and was watching her. "It won't heal until you drink some blood." And then the girls face scrunched up in anger. "How could you scare me like that!? I was worried sick! I thought I would be too late!"

"I'm sorry…" Saya looked down in shame. Anger didn't suit Lulu. It seemed an odd emotion, coming from her.

"Sorry doesn't excuse trying to kill yourself."

_That's what she thought I was doing? _Saya shook her head. "I wasn't trying to kill myself."

A pair of disbelieving green eyes looked at her.

"Lulu I promise! I wasn't!" She leaned towards her, eyelids drooping. "I… I was… following… R…" Saya fell forward into Lulu.

"Saya?" Lulu gently patted her cheek, trying to wake her. It was no use, Saya was out cold. She sighed. "Not again."

------------

A silver spoon lifted from a bowl of Lewis' famous cream of onion soup and disappeared in Saya's mouth. She didn't look up from the steaming bowl. She just listened to Kai's ranting.

"What the hell were you thinking!? I know you're sad but that's no reason to try and jump off the building! Damn it! I knew I shouldn't have left you alone! And you attacked Mao!"

Saya said nothing. Focusing on the food in front of her and the bandage covering the stinging wound on her forehead.

"I told you already Kai, that was my fault! I provoked her! So don't go blaming _that_ on her!" Mao snapped at him from the kitchen doorway, feeling the need to defend her friend. She had been cleaning the dishes from her earlier atempt at making Saya's breakfast, when she had heard her name.

"He's right though." David agreed. "We should not have left you three alone. Not with the condition Saya has been in. It was irresponsible."

Julia spoke from her place on the couch beside Saya, "You couldn't have guessed that Saya would have snapped out of her daze, David. None of us knew when she would. Or what she would do afterwards." She carried on preparing a transfusion for Saya once she had finished eating.

"Why don't you say something?" Lulu whispered, too quiet for human ears to hear. She was seated on Saya's other side.

Saya glanced at her sadly out of the corner of her eye, then looked away. She didn't want to tell them. The fact that she was hallucinating would cause them more worry than the thought of her trying to kill herself.

"It's still idiotic! What good would it do, Saya!? Just because _he's_ gone?" Kai yelled at her. Saya visibly flinched. "He wouldn't want you to hurt yourself because of him! You know that!"

Anger flashed within her. The bowl in her lap fell to the floor as she stood. "I was NOT trying to kill myself! I didn't go to the roof to JUMP! Do you really think I would put you through something like that after what happened to Father? After what happened to Riku? I wouldn't hurt Hagi like that either! Just because he's gone doesn't mean I am going to give up." Her eyes flared red.

Lulu grasped her shoulders and pulled her back down onto the couch. "Alright, calm down. Kai didn't mean anything. You just worried him. You had us all worried about you."

The glow vanished, and the sadness returned to her features. "I'm sorry Kai."

Kai could see how he had upset her and it calmed him. "Iie. I shouldn't have yelled at you. And I really should not have said _that_." He walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I am the one who should be sorry. I should have considered how you are feeling right now."

"Daijobu." Saya smiled faintly at her brother.

"Saya, are you ready for your treatment?" Julia asked after a moment.

"Hm? Oh. Hai. If you don't mind, Julia-san, I would like to go lay down."

"Very well." She stood and walked towards Saya's bedroom, carrying the IV and the blood drip.

Saya stood and followed. Lulu tagged along.

----------

Once she was in her room, resting in her bed, the IV finally feeding much needed blood into her system, Lulu spoke. Julia had returned to the living room, so they could talk privately.

"So, are you going to tell me what you were doing on the roof or not?" She looked at her seriously.

"I guess you are not going to give me a choice are you?" At the shake of a purple head of hair Saya continued. "I… I was following my little brother, Riku."

"Riku?" The small girl looked thoughtful. "Oh, I remember him! I saw him in France. He was your second Chevalier, the one Diva murdered. The babies father, right?"

Saya nodded, her heart constricting.

"It was a dream, but… he seemed so real. He kept saying someone was waiting for me. He tried to leave. I didn't want him to go so I followed him to the roof. And, Hagi was there. At least I thought he was." She looked out the window at the fading stars and the moon.

"Then what?"

"I was talking to him, I was reaching for him when I heard you called my name. That's what snapped me out of it. I had no idea I was standing on the ledge! I swear! I wasn't going to jump, Lulu. I promise." Saya looked to her with tears swimming in her eyes.

"I believe you." Lulu's calm reply surprised her. "I know you wouldn't hurt us that way."

"I've learned my lesson the hard way. Look what it's cost me. My death will not solve anything." Saya said sadly. She paused and looked at the Schiff girl skeptically.

"What?"

"Why are you not running to the other room and telling the others I've lost my mind, that I'm seeing dead people?"

Lulu laughed. "Big deal. So you hallucinated? I do that all the time, since I can't sleep. I see my brothers and sisters. I talk to them. It's normal to imagine you are with the people you miss. So, I won't tell them."

Saya gave a sad smile. "I was so happy, seeing Hagi again. It was as if he was still alive. After I realized it was a dream, I almost wished that, you hadn't made it in time. That I had died. Then I could be with him again."

"You shouldn't wish that. If you had died, you still wouldn't be with him because he isn't dead."

"Lulu, I saw the balcony crush him. He'd lost so much blood in his fight with Amshel. If that didn't kill him the fire must have. No Chiropteran can survive a fire like that." Tears streamed down her face as she spoke.

"But he isn't dead! I know he isn't! I can feel it!" Lulu climbed up on the bed to kneel beside her.

Looking up into her green eyes Saya could see she truly believed what she was saying. "Lulu, that's impossible."

"It's implausible, yes, but not impossible! I know he's alive. You have to believe me!" At the queen's disbelieving look she went on. "Hagi is, I don't know _where_ he is, but he's sad and happy, he's in a lot pain, he's confused about something. And there's another emotion I don't really know what it is that's stronger than all the others. He_ is_ alive!"

Saya looked at her in disbelief. "What do you mean?"

"It's hard to explain. I've been aware of it for a while now. I feel… I guess you would call it the 'presence', of people I am connected to, in my mind. I can feel their, emotions, sort of. And I can pinpoint their location sometimes, if I'm familiar with the area. I felt it when each of my brothers and sisters died. I felt it when Solomon killed Dismas and Gestas is Paris. When Ghee died of Thorn and Aurélien died from your blood."

Saya looked at her intently.

"I didn't realize it at the time, what it meant. All that pain I felt. I felt it when your brother died. But not until Moses and Karman… Until Kai returned and told me what had happened did I realize what it was. That's when it hit me, I felt them die, I knew it without really knowing. Each time you defeated one of Diva's Chevaliers and when you beat Dive herself. I knew." She finished with a far-off look in her eyes.

"How? How do you know? What does it feel like?" Saya asked trying to sit up.

Lulu tapped her chin in thought. "Sort of like… It's kind of like a light bulb switching off. Just like _that_!" To emphasize her point she snapped her fingers. "And then there's a void where that person used to be."

"How strange." Saya muttered quietly to herself.

"And people that I have a really strong connection to, I can sense their emotions. After Diva was defeated, I could feel your sadness, like you are right now. I could feel your pain and sadness when your brother died, yours and Kai's and Hagi's."

"How does the locating people work?" Saya asked. Genuinely interested.

"Well, my brothers and sisters all had their own special abilities, I guess you could say. Ghee was really good at adapting his combat style in a battle. Moses had more endurance. Dars was a bit stronger that the rest of us. I've always had a good sense of smell. And Aurélien had super sensitive hearing, that was how we could always find you, like when we attacked you on the ship. And when Moses and the others found you in Yekaterinburg." At Saya's surprised look she explained, "They tracked you down but Amshel was there so the left. That's how we found you in that forest in France the first time we met."

"That's amazing."

Lulu beamed. She could still see the uncertainty in her eyes. "He's alive, Saya."

"I want to believe you, but… "

"You'll see when he comes back." She stated matter-of-factly. "I can tell you what the others are doing in the living room right now."

"Okay."

"Kai's worried about you right now, he's pacing behind the couch. I think he's about to pop a blood vessel. Lewis is sitting on the couch and he's hungry, David's talking with Joel at the table, and Okamura's in the sofa chair, annoyed, he and Mao have been arguing again."

Saya giggled at the last one.

Lulu paused and smiled. "And Julia is coming down the hall to tell you someone, well, two little someone's, want to see you."

Just then there was a soft knock at the door. Saya called for Julia to come in.

"The twins are hungry and their getting a bit fussy. I was wondering if you felt like coming to the living room, I thought you might like to try feeding them?" Julia asked her. "Since you are their Oba-san."

"That's going to take some getting used to." Saya laughed. "Sure."

"I also thought I should tell you we will be leaving for Okinawa this morning. We have a long trip ahead of us." Julia walked over to the bed.

"Yes. It will be nice to see the ocean again."

"Saya?" When she looked over at Lulu, she asked, "What does 'Oba-san' mean?"

"It means 'aunt' in Japanese." Saya laughed as Julia took the IV out of her arm.

"Oh. You'll teach me more Japanese when we get to Okinawa, won't you?"

"Of course, Lulu." Saya answered her.

"Okay! Can I feed one of twins Julia-san?" She asked with sparkling eyes as she helped Saya up.

Saya laughed at Lulu's sudden change of subject.

"Yes, if you be very careful."

"Yay!" Lulu bounded out of the room, Julia and Saya followed her laughing.

-------

They all sat around the living room, acting like a normal family would. Chatting and laughing at everything and nothing. David was setting at the kitchen table with Joel, Kai, and Julia, going over a few small details for the planed return trip to Okinawa they would make in the morning, now only an hour or so away. Okamura was on his laptop. Mao was off doing some last minute cleaning and laundry. Saya sat between Lulu and Lewis on the couch, the two girls each had one of the babies in her arms, feeding them.

Saya laughed at the babies faces when they had taken the first sip out of their bottles. They obviously didn't think too much of the baby formula, they were Chiropteran's after all, they would prefer blood until taught otherwise.

The blue-eyed twin in Lulu's arms had finished her meal and Lulu was playing with her, lifting her in the air and cooing at her. The baby giggled. Saya could easily see Riku in them. Their faces were the same shape as Riku's, the same nose, the same set of their mouths. But Diva's features were the most obvious, the color of their hair, their pale skin, the shape of their eyes.

Saya's thoughts were interrupted by Lewis, "You are going to have your work cut out for you, Saya." She looked up at him in confusion. "Can't you imagine just how many times you are going to have to explain to people that you are not their mother? They look just like you!"

Saya blushed at the thought. It was made worse when Lulu laughed and added, "And if they've ever seen you with Hagi, they'll probably think he's their dad when they get a look at this one's eyes! Blue like his!"

Saya's blush deepened and she wanted to sink down into the couch. "It isn't the same color blue…" she mumbled.

"People won't pay _that _much attention. They'll just notice the blue!" Lulu giggled. She was having fun picking on Saya with Lewis.

The baby in her lap looked up at her with big reddish brown eyes. Just like her own. Saya set the bottle beside her leg and looked at the small girl. She stretched her tiny hand up towards Saya's face with a smile.

That was when Julia spoke up.

"David, did you find any new information about the cover up?" Julia asked. They hadn't discussed anything before. After Mao's call, they had all been in a rush to return to the apartment to look for Saya and it had since slipped their minds.

"No, nothing on the cover up. But we di-" David answered glumly but was interrupted before he could finish, by Lewis.

Lewis laughed jollily, his large belly bouncing, "But our investigative reporter found some interesting news!"

Okamura, who had been going through his photos on his computer and kept to himself until that moment, looked up to find the others in the room looking his direction. "What? Oh, yeah."

"What did you find?" Saya asked the man, readjusting the baby in her arms so it was sitting on her lap. Lulu also looked at him curiously. Mao came in from down the hall, a load of clean clothes in her arms. She glared at him, most likely because he hadn't told her.

Okamura sighed. "We were able to track down some locals that were in the area the night of the bombing. I was speaking with some of them, asking if any of them had witnessed anything unusual that night, besides the obvious and one woman informed me of a man she had heard ranting about something she found strange. She wouldn't say anything about it but she gave me his description and where to find him."

All the females in the room were listening intently. Along with Joel and Lewis, with his smug smile. David and Kai, having heard the tale before, were only mildly interested.

"He was a drifter. I found him, it took some convincing, but I managed to get him to tell me about what he witnessed. He said he heard the commotion from a few blocks away and went to see what was going on. When he arrived all he found was the fire. As he was leaving the area he saw two men coming from the direction of the fire."

"And?" Mao queried impatiently.

Okamura ignored her. "The were in quite a hurry to get away. He told me both of them looked worse for wear. One man, the shorter of the two, was helping the other walk. When he asked if the guy's friend was alright the man claimed they had been at a bar and his friend had gotten drunk and had been in a fight. He believed him about the fighting part. He said they were both covered in blood. But it was obvious they hadn't been to a bar, they were dressed too well. And with the amount of blood, that was no bar fight either. So I asked him to describe them. He said it was hard to tell for sure because there wasn't much light, but the shortest one had blond curly blond hair, he was wearing a funny looking shirt, sort of talked like a girl. He said the thing that stuck out the most about him was he was wearing cowboy boots."

He looked at Saya. She seemed shocked at the description.

"It sounds like Nathan Mahler to me." Lewis exclaimed.

"Nathan? But I killed him. My blood should have…" Saya didn't understand how he could still be alive. It sounded just like Nathan. But if he had survived… And they hadn't found any signs of Hagi, what if?

"His remains were not recovered at the MET." David confirmed.

"What about the other man?" Saya asked trying not to get her hopes up.

"The other man was pretty tall, wearing a fancy-looking suit that had been ripped to shreds, long dark hair. Really pale. He was really bloody. Said one of his hands looked strange, like it was scarred."

Saya's breath caught in her throat. Could it really be Hagi? Could he have survived? She saw Lulu look at her from the corner of her eye. She turned to the girl.

"See? Told you."

Saya smiled.

"It merits looking into." Lewis called to David.

"Hai. On the off chance that it is Nathan and or Hagi." David agreed.

"Then we shall have our men on the job immediately. If Hagi is still alive then we will find him and bring him home where he belongs." Joel stated.

Saya looked at him. Finding comfort in his words. "Arigatou, Joel-sama."

"It is the least we can do after all you have done for us, Saya. I know how much happiness it would bring you to know your friend is alive and have him back with you."

"Hai." She smiled.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to finish packing!" Mao announced. She turned and stalked off down the hall.

"She still isn't finished?" Okamura groaned. "Everyone else is done."

Saya stood, holding the now sleeping baby in her arms. "I need to pack my things, too. It shouldn't take too long, I don't have much. Lewis-san? Can you hold her till I come back?"

"No problem." He said taking the girl in his arms.

Saya excused herself then walked down the hall to her room.

---------

Her things were packed. She had changed into a pink dress. Hagi's oversized coat and shirt were not a problem here, but she didn't think it would seem appropriate in an airport with other people.

She folded Hagi's clothes and placed them in her travel bag and zipped it up. She looked down at the cello case still in the floor by her bed. She remembered something Hagi had said to her, about having not played in a long time. And her cold reply, _"The only thing my hands want are my sword." _How she wished she had been a little kinder to him.

She grasped the handle on the heavy case and lifted it up on the bed. She opened the case and removed the cello and bow. Setting on the edge of the bed she laid the bow aside as she adjusted the end pin for her height. She positioned her fingers on the neck of the instrument and set the bow against the strings, smiling as she remembered scolding Hagi for holding it wrong, "_No! Not like that, like this!"._ She pulled the bow across the strings, emitting the first deep note of the song she had taught him so long ago.

The sounds of the song flowed through the apartment, and it froze everyone in their tracks. If it hadn't been for the sadder undertone in the notes they would have thought Hagi had returned.

As she played she though. Of everything Hagi had done for her, everything he had given up, all the time they had spent together.

She closed her eyes and let her fingers find the notes blindly. Moving in vibratos and legatos. Never missing a beat.

She wanted to believe Lulu, and wanted the man Okamura's informant had seen to be Hagi. Their words had given her hope. And that hope had given her a reason to at least try to be happy. She would try her best for her friends, so they would not worry. And she would try for Hagi, because it was what he would have wanted for her.

Saya reached the series of staccatos near the end of the piece.

_I'll wait. No matter how long it takes._ Just like Hagi always waited for her. Whenever he decided to come back, she would do everything in her power to repay him for all he had done. He would find her. He always did. And if he still felt the same, she wouldn't blame him if he didn't, but if he did… then they could finally be together. Happy. Like they had always wanted.

Her hand vibrated on the strings. The bow striking the last note. It reverberated through her and echoed down the hall.

And then, silence.

She opened her eyes and saw the sky beginning to light up through the window. The sun was rising.

She placed the cello back in it's case and closed the lid, snapping the clasps.

"I didn't know you could play the cello."

She turned to see Kai standing in the doorway.

"Yeah." She stood. "It's just… been a while since I've played. I taught Hagi that song when we first met."

"Really?" He walked over to her and took her bag. "It sounds like you've been playing every day of your life."

"Hagi is a lot better than me. He always has been." She looked fondly at the cello.

Kai watched her for a moment then laughed. "I don't know about that."

She just looked at up at him and smiled. "Kai, lets go home." He nodded as she lifted the cello from the bed.

She walked with her brother, down the hall to the living room were her friends and family were waiting.

**~Owari~**

* * *

**A/N:** I read in the novel (I'm pretty sure it was in the novel. If it wasn't then 'oopsy!'), that all the Schiff had special ability of some sort. I tried to go back and find it but I couldn't remember which volume it was in… But I remember Ghee's and Aurelian's (I used her name form the novel, it was prettier) I think I put the right one for Moses's, if not then when I find it I'll come back and fix it. Anywhoo, compared to the others Lulu's good sniffer didn't seem all that great so I gave her this new ability as described in the story. The poor girl deserved better than a good nose! I'm sorry but it's true.

I honestly don't think Nathan is all bad. There have been little things he's done and said that make me think this. He was in that news broadcast in the last episode so obviously he escaped, so why not have him help Hagi out, too.

Sorry if I misused any cello terms. Other than the guitar, I know next to nothing about stringed instruments so, yeah. That's all I've got on that.

I thought this would be a good way to end the story. It's been fun! I hoped you liked it! I would love to do an epilogue to this, a 'what has Hagi been up to all this time' sort of thing. I may do it soon, if I feel like it, but right now I'm gonna take a breather. This multi-chapter story wore me out. I think I'll stick to one-shots from now on. So till then, see ya later! Sayonara!!

Leave a review if you liked it! Tell me what you think. Or to just say 'hi'. I have fangs but I promise I wont bite;)

**there those typos were bugging the heck out of me^^ well i better get started on the epilogue i mentioned above... im hoping i'll have it out by the middle of Nov., the 26th at the latest. thats my birthday. itll be my present to ya'll! wish me luck!!


	6. Chapter 6

Ah! The long awaited Epilogue to Gone. The answer to my mind's question, 'what the heck was Hagi doing the whole time Saya was having her… 'issues'?' I honestly didn't think I would be able to do it. But I did! YAY! I was planning on writing the entire thing and posting it as a one-shot as the sixth chapter in Gone, but I decided to split it into 2 parts. I thought this would be more fun!

This will follow the same context as Gone. Perhaps a little angsty, little bit of humor maybe, since Nathan will be hanging around. Everyone knows that when you have Hagi + Nathan it always equals awkward moments and trouble, usually at Hagi's expense.

Hagi is an extremely difficult person to keep in character because of his lack of 'personality display', for lack of a better phrase. Even with the novel's insight, there still is not very much to go on. So I'll say it before hand, if he seems a little off I'm sorry. He'll be doing a lot of off-in-his-head thinking in this part, so don't be shocked if you come across a section where I just seem to ramble on and on about his thoughts. Hagi does spend most of his time standing around watching quietly like he's somewhere else. He has to think a lot cause he has a lot of free time on his hands. And there's no telling what he's milling over^^

Oh, and Happy Halloween! Since I can't give you candy, this is my treat to you.

The title of this part is from the song "My Answer" by Hitomi Takahashi. Pretty song. And the lyrics fits Hagi's personality/tendencies fairly well.

* * *

Chapter 6: Epilogue Part 1: My Answer

* * *

Pain.

Blinding. Mind boggling. All consuming. Pain.

That was all he felt…

But that pain was not caused by the crystallized arm that had been, until seconds ago, protruding through his chest. Nor was it a result of the innumerable amounts of concrete and steel and wood that buried him.

No the pain he felt was but a mere pin prick compared to this.

"_HAGI!" _That mangled, heartbroken cry that had been emitted from his Queen's throat and the tears she had shed. That had hurt worse that all the injuries he had sustained throughout his long life all combined into one.

He swore to himself, the night he became her Chevalier, the night he had revealed his true Chiropteran self in order to protect her, that he would never hurt her, the woman he loved, ever again.

He had seen the pain in her eyes, as she cried and reached out to him.

He had broken a promise to her. For the second time that night.

And for that he should suffer.

But…

He could feel her presence moving away form the area, away from him.

_She is still alive_.

He could make it up to her. If he could this would-be-grave he had placed himself in, he could return to her. And he could try his best to make keep his promise from here on out.

Hagi began to fight his fatigued and muddled mind to try and work his way out of the rubble that was burying him, keeping him from his beloved. He could survive this. He had been through far worse. If only that damned Amshel hadn't severed his arm, it would have been easier.

He had to hurry. But his vision began to swim. Everything was becoming hazy.

Roaring. The sound of roaring finally registered in his mind. So familiar.

What had David said before? Option D?

The jet bombers!

_They are already here. _

He was suddenly aware that he could taste fresher air. Through his blurry vision he could see light. The sound of crunching and moving rubble filled his ears.

_How?_

"Come on now. Pull it together." An oddly familiar voice said.

Hagi realized he was no longer under the debris. He was standing, not quite up right, leaning on something. He grunted softly from the pain enveloping his body.

"I guess you'll be wanting to keep this thing, won't you?" The voice said in a mildly irritated tone, accompanied by a loud thud. "And this?"

Before he could ask who was there or what they were speaking of, his train of thought was broken by the sensation of floating. "Hang on." Then he was flying. Or so it felt.

The movement caused him to fell nauseated, for the first time in a long time. He closed his eyes, they were not doing him any good, he still couldn't see.

The falling rain stung as it pelted against his skin. He was moving so fast.

Then, as suddenly the vertigo had begun, it stopped.

There was a loud noise. The ground shook beneath him. Wait, when had he laid down?

"Well. That was a close one! Wouldn't you agree? Now that we're far enough away from all the drama…"

A delicious sent filled the air and Hagi felt a warm liquid drip into his mouth. There was a salty tang on his tongue. Blood. He didn't want it, but he could not bring himself to spit the blood back out, he was too thirsty. He swallowed it.

There was an burning itch on his left arm, right where it had been severed, between his shoulder and where his elbow should have been.

_The wound must be closing up. _He felt a pang of regret as he realized he would never be able to play the cello for Saya again.

"There that ought to do you 'til we get you cleaned up. Oh! Here you'd probably rather hold on to this."

He was on his feet again. And there was something in his right hand. A sort of weaved… something. Like a handle, maybe?

Leaning on the person next to him, he was lead forward blindly. He had no idea where he was going. He couldn't muster the strength to ask.

Suddenly they froze.

"Is he alright?" A strange, new voice asked. It was a man, that Hagi was certain of.

"Yeah. He'll be fine. My friend and I were on our way home from work and decided to stop in at our favorite bar for a few drinks. Had a few one-too-many's if you catch my drift." The voice below his ear replied.

Why did it sound so familiar?

"Any way, this one here…" Hagi felt the person next to him jerk slightly in his direction, "got in a fight with a big ugly brute over a pretty little girl. I had to help him out. He'll be alright, once I get him to his place. He can sleep it off."

"Are you sure?" The withered voice queried skeptically. "He looks like he should be in a hospital. There's one two blocks from here…"

"Yes, I'm very sure he's fine! He doesn't care much for hospitals." A laugh. "Thank you for your concern, but now we really must be going."

They began moving again. That was the last thing Hagi knew before everything went black.

--------------

It was raining and so they had taken refuge in a leaky barn. Their drenched clothes were hung up to dry and they were seeking warmth in a large pile of hay.

He was trying his best not to look at her.

Even though, in his life as a traveler, he had seen far more unseemly things than a female in her under garments, and even if she didn't seem to notice any oddness or mind the breach of etiquette, it seemed improper to gaze at a lady such as Saya.

She stretched and fell back into the hay. "Are you alright, Hagi? You're not too cold?" Came her gently voice.

"No. Huh?" Her soft hand brushed his forehead. Surprised he leaned away slightly and looked to her as her hand retreated.

She had raised back up. Between her fingers was a small piece of straw. She smiled at him, "I'm really glad… that you are the one who will be staying with me, Hagi." Her eyes closed and she laid back down.

Hagi stared at her, astonished at her words. No one had ever said anything like that to him before.

He sighed and eased down beside her.

As they gazed at the wood planks in the ceiling, Saya mused sadly, "I guess I was always afraid that there wasn't a single living creature that would ever get close to me, except for Joel."

"That's probably because you are so selfish, Saya." His child like honesty was rewarded with a face full of itchy hay.

Mumbling, he raised his left arm and began swatting the dried grass. "Wh-what was that for?" His voice sounded strange, coming from his mouth, sort of older.

Saya's reply of, "That's for saying such a mean thing to me." and her following fit of soft giggles were overlapped with another voice saying, "What was what for?"

Hagi pressed a hand to his face and groaned, then he opened his eyes. What he saw caused him to inhale sharply. Directly above him, looking down at him was a set of dark blue eyes and a pale face framed with curly blond locks.

Nathan Mahler.

"It's about darn time you woke up, handsome!" Nathan laughed in his oddly cheery, feminine tinged voice.

Hagi jumped slightly, sitting up and feeling behind him with his hands as he tried to crawl backwards, away from the man. He froze. Looking down to his left, what he saw astounded him.

His arm. It was there? And what's more, it was _human_.

_But how? _He lifted his hand before his face and studied it. There was no damage to it. It was as if Amshel's attack had never touched it.

"You are very lucky Amshel didn't completely pulverize that arm!" Nathan's laugh brought Hagi back to reality.

He swiveled quickly to face the blond and was hit with a wave of dizziness. He almost fell out of the bed he was laying in.

"You're still a bit lacking in the blood department. I've been bringing you some each day but it's difficult to feed someone who is knocked out." Nathan plopped down on the bed next to Hagi as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. "You drank a few drops of it though. That's why some of you're injuries are beginning to heal. You still have a few crystallized chunks of Amshel imbedded in your abdomen. Which, might I add, is very nice looking. No too flat but not to sculpted, either. That Saya is one lucky girl! Do you work out?"

Hagi swiped at him with his clawed right hand. When Nathan appeared across the room, Hagi glared at him.

"Oh, come now, don't give me that look! Haven't you ever heard of small talk? You are about as bad a James was. Can't even take a joke."

"How are you alive?" Hagi's steel gaze bore into Nathan.

"I would think that would be obvious by now." The blond twirled a strand of his short hair.

Hagi got to his feet unsteadily. Then crouched down in to a fighting stance.

"I could kill you, you know? But… I don't want to. Besides you're about to hit the floor in five seconds anyway."

Hagi's vision blurred and he pitched forward, only to be pushed back onto the bed by Nathan.

After a few moments, Hagi looked to the other man. "You are not Diva's Chevalier."

Nathan gave him a big grin. "Bingo! Pretty and smart!" He ignored Hagi's growl and continued. "I'm not planning on killing you or anything. So don't worry about that."

Blue grey eyes looked at him intently.

"You are free to go when ever you like." Nathan said seriously. "After you are healed enough. That will take a while."

He felt no hostility from the man. "I did not ask you this."

Startled by the confused tone of his voice, Nathan looked at him. Then smiled, "So, you were wondering. I would be, too. Is there anything else you would like to know?"

Hagi hesitated. Normally he was not one to talk or ask questions but he was curious. He did not know whether or not to trust this strange man. "How long have I been sleeping?"

"Oh, about a week. That's the longest I've ever seen a Chevalier out for! But I'm not surprised. Considering how little blood you had left. You are just like Saya aren't you. You don't feed often enough."

"Where is Saya?" The thought struck him like lightning. Was she well? Hurt? Could she already be asleep?

"Most likely she is in the city with your little friends at the Red Shield. Still in that little cul-de-sac of an apartment you've been hiding out in."

So he knew where they had been hiding? Did that mean Diva and her other Chevaliers knew as well? But rather than voice his thoughts, he asked a different question.

"Where are we?"

"Well out of city limits if that is what you are wondering. You would never be able to make it there from here until you are better. Saya is safe. Don't worry about her."

Hagi watched him carefully. This man, he was interesting, to say the least. Everything about him was unlike anything Hagi had ever encountered before. His mannerisms, the way he dressed, the way he spoke… But beneath that veil of whimsy, Hagi could sense a wisdom well beyond what one would expect.

He could see it in Nathan's blue eyes. He was very old.

Hagi wondered just how old he was. What had happened to his Queen.

Before he could open his mouth, Nathan began talking again.

"We would have been closer if your little human friends hadn't raided my other home. I really liked that one. Oh well."

Hagi sighed. "Why did you save me?"

"Hm? Oh, no particular reason. I just figured I owed Saya _something_ after causing her so much trouble over the past 30 some odd years. Poor dear, she deserves some happiness after everything she's been through."

Hagi had to agree with that. She deserved to be happy. His Queen had sacrificed so much for the sake of others, people that had no knowledge she even existed. That trait was one of the many things he loved about her.

He suddenly remembered his earlier thoughts.

"If you are not Diva's Chevalier, then who's are you? What happened to your Queen?"

Nathan froze. For only a second, he looked as if someone had ripped his heart from his chest. Then he composed himself.

"That is a tale for another day, mon ami. You need to rest now." Nathan stood and pushed Hagi down on the pillows. "I will come check on you later tonight…"

There was a hollow undertone in his voice.

Hagi stared after the blond as he stalked out of the room.

-------------------

The first few hours after Nathan had left the room he simply lay there and stared at the clock across the room and thought.

Where exactly was Saya? Was she alright? Where the others alright?

He needed to find a way to inform them he was still alive, so Saya would not worry. The problem was he did not know _how_ to get in contact with them.

Nathan didn't come back. But Hagi could still feel his presence in the house, so he knew that he hadn't left. He had felt Nathan come towards the room twice, just a few meters from the door, but he had turned and walked away both times. Had he upset the man?

Hagi hadn't thought much about it after that. He other matters to worry about.

_I must return to Saya._

He had tried to come up with a way to escape before Nathan could stop him. The man was smarter than he looked, this Hagi knew. He would catch on before Hagi would even be able to get out of the house. He sincerely believed that man was concerned for him, in his own strange way. If we wasn't, he would not have rescued him from the opera house, nor would he have doctored Hagi's wounds when he was unconscious.

He gave up on that plan.

Instead he decided to see if he could get up. If he had the strength to walk, that would be an encouragement. Maybe he could get to a phone or find some other means of communication.

He quickly discovered Nathan's earlier statement had been correct.

He had made it a few steps from the bed and he had sank to the floor. His strength had not yet returned to him and the injuries he had sustained were still not healed enough. No battle had ever drained him this badly. He had to crawl back to the bed.

After he was resting against the soft sheets again, he realized he had no idea what he would do if he had found a phone. He didn't know what numbers to call to reach Saya. He was always with her, he had not needed them.

Sighing he closed his eyes. _I might as well conserve my energy. I will heal faster._

So he had lain there and thought about Saya. Their past. And what their future might hold.

She was everything. Even before he had become her Chevalier, she had been the center of his world. She was all he had ever know. The only one who had ever seemed to care for him.

She had taught him many things. Places he never knew existed, how to read and write, how to read music and play the cello. No one had ever bothered to teach him anything before. Her constant presence had kept him from feeling lonely and betrayed by his parents. She had been kind where others had despised him. Had embraced his former lifestyle where others had turned away. Saya saw him for who he really was, and not the 'gitan filth' that he was know as. She simply smiled at him and he felt a warmth rise in his chest and everything was alright.

As an adult, he had done the same for her. He knew she was not normal, even before he had realized she was not growing older. Others had warned him of her 'peculiar' ways, the told him he should escape while he could. Hagi thanked them for their concern and told them he could take care of himself.

It was not her fault that she had been that way, it was simply who she was. Why should he abandon her for that, when she had been there for him. Had accepted him. He could do that for her in return. He was already in love with her. He would continue to love her, nothing could change that. He took care of her and protected her from the scrutiny of others, just as she had done for him. And with every smile he knew it was worth the trouble. Because with each of her beautiful smiles he fell even more in love with her.

When he had become her Chevalier, he had felt a variety emotions. Confusion as to what he had become. Happiness that he could now stay with her always and protect her from anything. But that happiness quickly became self loathing when he had frightening her while trying to protect her. Regret that she felt guilty for everything she had done.

He knew she blamed herself for everything that had happened him, making him her Chevalier, all the pain he had endured, the incident if Vietnam that had left his right hand in it's Chiropteran form. She had apologized countless times for it. And he had tried his best to allay her fears. None of that mattered to him, he would gladly endure all of it again because being with her had given him so much joy.

The night at the Metropolitan. After he had told her he loved her and she had kissed him. She had smiled as she told him that she wanted to be with him, that she wanted to live with him. It did not matter that she had not said she loved him also. He knew that she cared deeply for him, he did not need to hear it. He was still amazed that he had even said anything to her. He would be eternally grateful to Kai for knocking some sense into him. The boy had given them hope for a future.

He had never really thought about their future. It had been to painful to think about the unavoidable promise they had made, so the prospect of having a family had always eluded him. It had ever only been himself and Saya, he believed that it would always be that way. But now Kai had given them the promise of a family, of love and protection. Something they had never had.

It was what Saya had always longed for. A family. And now she had one. She had a brother, and two small nieces, and Lulu, whom Saya already considered as a younger sister. Even the Red Shield members they had been with all this time, David, the Doctor, Lewis, the reporter, even that bossy girl, Mao.

He wondered if his future relationship with Saya would be any different. She had said she wanted to be with him. That could mean many different things. Would it be the same as before? Or would they be more than Master and Servant, Queen and Chevalier?

He would find out soon, hopefully.

Once he was healed enough, he needed to find her before she went to sleep. They could have a little time to be together before her hibernation, time to be a family, time to figure out where they stood with each other.

This distance between them at the moment, as much as it pained him to be apart form her, was nothing when he thought about what could be.

"Judging from that dreamy look on your face, I take it you're thinking about Saya."

Nathan's voice broke Hagi from his reverie. He opened his eyes and looked to the door. There Nathan stood, leaning against the door frame. A knowing smirk on his face.

"I will take your silence as a 'yes'. You've been off in your own world over half the day already." he laughed. "It's well in the afternoon. I came in here several times but you were always completely oblivious."

Hagi set up on the bed and looked at the clock. I was nearly 5. There was a dim light coming in through the dark curtain on the window.

"It's raining again today." Nathan said as he came over and handed Hagi an ornately decorated wine glass filled nearly to the brim. But the sweet red substance in the glass was not wine. It was blood.

As badly as Hagi hated to drink it, he needed it if he was to get better. The sooner he was well the sooner he could leave. And to get better he needed blood. He drank it as fast as he could.

After a few moments he said, "I am sorry if I upset you."

"What?" Nathan looked completely shocked.

"For prying last evening. I did not mean to offend you." Hagi bowed his head.

"Oh! For asking about… It's fine. I wasn't offended or anything. It just… surprised me. No one has asked me about her in so long." He said sadly. "No one's every asked about my past before. I didn't know what to think. Or say for that matter. A very rare occurrence."

The confused look Hagi gave him caused him to laugh. "I will answer you question though. But not now. Some other time. Now how would you like to go to the living room and watch some TV? There's a really good show getting ready to come on and it's not very fun to watch anything by myself. Plus, you have to be getting sick of this room." Nathan looked like a child, asking for candy as he asked Hagi to join him.

He did find it exhausting laying here all the time. It would be nice to move around a bit.

"Of course."

--------------

Hagi's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. This was Nathan's idea of a good show.

A fashion show.

The first show they had watched hadn't been bad. It was a crime show, that had been quite interesting.

But now he wished he had stayed in bed. Not wanting to be entirely rude, he leaned his head back against the cushion on the large couch he was seated in and closed his eyes.

He barely noticed Nathan's continuous rambling about how the women on the screen looked like prostitutes or that they had had plastic surgery to make their breasts larger or some other similar insult.

He focused on Saya. Trying to sense her whereabouts, what she was doing, anything to let him know she was well, that she was still awake.

On rare occasions, when they had been separated or in battles, he had been able to see what she was doing, almost as if he were looking through her eyes, or there beside her.

_There!_

She was still at the apartment, that was good. He could feel that she was sad. She must truly believe that he had been killed.

Then as suddenly as he had found her presence, her emotion changed. She was empty. He focused harder. Trying to see what she was doing. Slowly her surroundings came into focus.

She was in the hallway. Walking towards the stairs. _What could she be doing?_ He watched as her arm extended before her. The large black sleeve covering her arm looked familiar. Was she wearing his coat? Why?

She entered the stair well and looked down over the rail. Then up. She began to climb.

_What is she doing? _Why did he have a sinking feeling in his chest.

He continued to watch as she trekked up the stairs to the roof of the apartment. She looked around, as if searching for something.

_What would be up here?_

Suddenly she stopped and looked to the edge of the building. Her hands coming to her face. She was shaking. Was she crying? Her arms extended before her and she made slow deliberate steps towards the ledge. He realized what she was going to do. And there was not anything he could do. She climbed up onto the ledge. He shouted in his mind as loudly as possible.

_Saya! NO! _He was panicking. Even if he was able to run, he wouldn't have made it in time to stop her. _Please stop! _

She lifted her foot. _Saya, don't! Don't do it! Please? _

He felt her lose her balance and then the sensation of falling.

His eyes snapped open and her jumped to his feet. "NO!" He roared.

Nathan looked at him in confusion. "What now?"

Hagi glanced all around the room. His eyes glowing a bloody red in his fury. He grabbed a vase from a small table beside him and smashed it on the floor. He couldn't believe this could happen. Not after… Because of him? He growled.

He swiped at a fancy looking chair to his right with his right hand. It was sent flying into a shelf. Books and shattered glass crashed to the floor.

"Oh no you don't!" Nathan was behind him, his transformed arm wrapped around Hagi's neck, the sharp edge of his claw broke skin and the enraged Chiropteran froze. "I will NOT have another house nearly destroyed but a Chevalier with issues."

"Go ahead, kill me!" Hagi snarled. He sounded desperate. It wasn't like himself at all.

"If that's what you want…" Nathan replied glumly. "But do you mind telling me why?"

Hagi seethed. "Saya just committed suicide. Damn it! What are you waiting for? KILL ME!"

"What? What do you mean committed suicide?" Nathan released Hagi and shoved him onto the couch.

"I saw her fall from the apartment we have been residing in."

"Now why would she do that?"

"I would assume it is because she believes I am dead!" Hagi yelled.

"Hm? I don't see why. She should know you're still alive." He seemed serious. Nathan's eyes went out of focus for a second. "She seems alive to me. Are you sure that's what you saw?"

"Yes! Why would I lie?"

Nathan bent down to Hagi's level, looking him square in the eyes. His hand shot out, like the strike of a snake, and he grasped Hagi's nose, painfully, between the knuckles of his index and middle fingers.

Hagi's eyes widened in surprise, loosing their glow. Taking a gasping breath through his mouth, he wrapped his hand around Nathan's thin wrist, trying to pull his hand away. It wouldn't budge.

Nathan's voice took on an ominous dark timbre, eyes lighting up, dim in comparison to the brightness Hagi's had been, and he said, "I'm not buying it! Calm down! Breathe. Try looking for her again. You were watching her through the connection in your mind, were you not? Make sure what you think you've seen is correct before you act. Brashness will get you nowhere."

Hagi glared at Nathan but he knew the blond had made a point. He closed his eyes and searched for Saya again. Try as he might, he couldn't sense her presence. Just when he was about to give up hope…

There she was!

_But how?_

He focused on her. Her vision filling his. She was looking down at a concrete surface. It seemed awfully close. Then she jumped slightly. Her eyes shifted quickly upward. The sight of a little purple haired girl with sunken green eyes brought waves of relief to Hagi's heart. _Lulu!_ He mentally sighed. She was taking care of Saya since he couldn't. If he could, he most likely would have hugged the small girl. He was that grateful to her for saving his love.

"_I wasn't trying to kill myself." _Saya's voice was faint. He had to strain to hear what she was saying to the angry looking Schiff girl. _"Lulu I promise! I wasn't!" _Saya's eyes became blurred. What was wrong? _"I… I was… following… R…"_ Everything went black. She must have passed out. She sounded tired.

Hagi opened his eyes. "You were right…"

"I thought so!" Nathan grinned. "Why would she jump off a building when she has someone as pretty as you to look at?"

Hagi ignored his last comment. "I should have made sure of what I saw before I…" He looked to the ruined shelf and chair. The to the vase of the floor. "I am sorry for breaking your belongings. I will try my best to repay you for them." He bowed his head in apology.

"Don't worry about that. I can replace them myself, but I did like that vase though…"

"No. I will repay you."

Nathan frowned for a moment. "Oh! I know, if you want to repay me you can stay here with me for a while! At least until you are well, I know you want to leave now but it would be nice to have company for an extended period of time. Someone who isn't bent on world domination. How 'bout that, hm?"

Hagi looked at the man. He wasn't much different than himself really. Deep down. He was lonely too.

Hagi could do this for him. He could put up with him, for a while anyhow. And when he was well, he would go to Saya. She was safe for now.

"Yes. That would be nice." Hagi replied. A faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Yay!" Nathan clapped his hands before himself like a child. "You kinda owe me! I'm still a bit miffed about you kicking me through that trailer at that airbase in Ohio! That actually hurt a bit."

To Hagi's own surprise he rolled his eyes at the man.

Nathan plopped down on the couch beside him. He leaned towards him, resting his chin on Hagi's shoulder. _The man has no respect for personal space_, Hagi realized. A mischievous smile came across his face. "We can talk about girls!"

"No."

"OK. Um. How about we talk about how hot you think Saya is?" Nathan smiled from ear to ear, showing all of his white teeth.

Hagi sighed. _What have I gotten myself into…?_

--------------

The days passed. Hagi discovered Nathan wasn't as bad as he had thought. Once you got used to his antics.

Nathan had went out and purchased Hagi some, what he would call 'decent clothing', to wear since Nathan's tastes were polar opposites of his own.

Hagi was feeling much better but he still had not returned to full strength. Until today he hadn't been able to do much without getting exhausted. Today he felt almost normal.

Nathan was out so he had tried to check up on Saya again. He hadn't been about to connect to her mind like before but he could feel her presence in his mind. Something seemed… off? Almost as if she were… farther away?

The front door opened. Nathan entered looking smug. He was dressed in a business suit. Blue shirt and pink tie peeking from the top of his snuggly buttoned jacket. "A very productive evening. I told you, Hagi! You should have came with me!"

"What have you been doing?"

"I had a date with the CIA at the arraignment of one Van Argeano. Pansy of a man. The human press does not always know the correct questions to ask, nor do they always know who to ask their questions, too!" At Hagi's confused look he added. "I don't have all those outfits in my closet for dress up, you know. Theater isn't my only job. Pretending to be a reporter can be so much fun!" He giggled. "I can really stir thing up."

"I have no interest in that sort of thing." Hagi stated blandly.

"I swear, Hagi, you're such a bore! I stand corrected! You _are_ _worse_ than James. You make him look like the life of the party!" He placed his hands on his hips and glowered for a moment before heading down the hall.

When Nathan returned a few minutes later he had changed his attire. Now he was dressed in dark clothing but it was still flashy.

"You wanna come with?"

Hagi looked at him. "Where are you going this time?"

"Hunting. I've used up most my blood supply on you. Plus I haven't had anything to drink for a while. And no one is going to miss a few ounces of their blood if they don't know what hit them. Do you think you're feeling up for it?"

"You intend to drink from humans?" He didn't know why he had asked, he already knew the answer.

"Of course."

"Then I will not be joining you."

"Fine! We wont massacre the unsuspecting townsfolk. Will you come now?"

Hagi got to his feet and walked over to join Nathan.

When he was putting on his coat Nathan added, "We can raid a clinic! I think I have some doctors garb in my wardrobe somewhere…"

Hearing a frustrated growl from Hagi's throat he clarified. "Okay, _I'll_ be raiding a clinic. You can… go visit you're girlfriend or something. I know you're busting at the seems to get back to her. I can join you latter! I just know she'll love seeing me!"

"We'll be going that far?"

"Yes. There aren't any blood clinics around these parts. We _are_ out in the boonies!"

Hagi shook his head. But he was thoroughly delighted at the thought of seeing Saya. As he walked out the door in front of Nathan he said passively, "I'm still not too happy about you're stealing blood."

He smiled faintly when he heard the shorter man close the door behind him and mumble, "Do you _have_ to be so knit-picky?"

* * *

**A/N: **Well, here's part 1! Yay! Half way done!

I figured a few days cooped up with a talkative person like Nathan would cause Hagi to either go insane or help him to lighten up a little. I chose the lighten up scenario. As funny as an insane Hagi sounds, I like him too much to put him through something like that^^ Besides, now that he doesn't have the burden of killing the love of his life anymore, you would think he would be happier. Not saying he'll stay this way though *evil laughter*

Nathan will answer Hagi's question in the next half, I won't leave that hanging. In case you where wondering. It will be different. Most assume he's just acting on ulterior motives, while I think it's true, I think mostly he's just lonely and heartbroken and angry with himself and trying to get even with the world for what they've put him through in the past. I'll be changing things up slightly with his past. More on that next chapter…

You can probably already guess what will happen when they get to the city.

Next part should be soon. If I get to work on it. It might take longer than this one, there's a lot to cover in the next part.

See ya then!


	7. Chapter 7

The final chapter of Gone. Wow… I'm kinda sad now. I liked writing this.

Alright! Time for gloom and depressedness. On both Hagi and Nathan's accounts. Poor guys. Why is everyone so mean to them. But then again they are probably used to it by now. (that really is not a good thing)

The name of this chapter comes from Yuna Ito's songs 'Truth' and 'Endless Story'. I had trouble deciding between them. I love them both so I decided to go with both of them because they sound so like Hagi and his relationship with Saya.

* * *

Chapter 7: Epilogue Part 2: Truth/Endless Story

* * *

Nathan could not be swayed from his decision to raid one of the city's largest clinics of a few dozen precious packets of blood. He had tried to brush it off, saying that the doctors would never know, they would think some new nurse had simply made a miscalculation of their stock.

That had caused Hagi to feel worse. Some poor girl might get fired because of them. Maybe they should just feed off of a few unsuspecting night owls. There were plenty of drunken fools roaming the streets.

Nathan told him not to worry about it, he would take care of it.

The had separated in the park. Hagi had given Nathan the name of the apartment. Nathan informed him he already knew where they had been staying and promised to meet him there after he had acquired what they needed. Nathan gave Hagi a cell phone, "_For emergencies._" he had said. Hagi did not mention he knew nothing about the things and placed it in his coat pocket and had set off to find Saya.

It took longer to find the apartment than he thought it would.

As he gazed up at the apartment he couldn't shake the strange feeling in his heart. He wondered vaguely why there were no lights on on their floor. It was only 9 o'clock, surely they hadn't already gone to bed. Then a light flicked on. He sighed and entered the building. He noticed the 'Out of Order' sign had been removed from the elevator. But rather than take the easy way up, he chose to use the stairs. He had gotten so used to taking them, and needed to keep building his strength.

The feeling in his chest got worse with each step he took. As he stood before the door to their quarters he smiled as he realized it was nervousness.

It was like the time he had first met Saya.

He felt enveloped in warmth as the memory over took him.

_He followed along beside the elderly man who had called himself Joel. The man was nice to him. But as a young child he could not get over the sting of being practically given away by his parent to complete strangers. And he didn't know why but he felt nervous about meeting this mysterious lady of the house they were searching for._

"Ah, there she is_."_

_Hagi looked up to see a young lady sitting on the edge of a large fountain. She looked lovely in her pink dress and her long black hair made her look very pale. Her left arm was reaching out, her delicate fingers skimming over the surface of the cascading water._

_She was without a doubt the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. _

_Joel had told him to smile but he couldn't bring himself to even try. He just watched her with a blank expression._

_The girl looked up. Hagi felt himself gasp. Her eyes. The were red. He'd never seen such a thing before. It frightened him slightly._

_But for some reason he couldn't look away from them. They added to her beauty. His heart beat faster. _

_Curiosity crossed her face and she stood when they were before her._

"Joel, who is this boy?" _Her strange eye's appraised him._

"This is Hagi. Saya, this lad is your friend."

"My friend?" _She sounded confused. He felt his stomach fluttering at the thought of spending time with her. _

"Starting today he will be living here. Please show him the ropes. This will help you get to know each other." _The old man nudged him forward slightly._

"…All right." _She sounded bored. Like he was simply an unwanted chore. Hagi's heart sunk. _

_She didn't want him._

_So that meant he would probably be thrown away again. Like with his parents. _

_Angry, he looked away from the lovely young girl. If she didn't want him, fine. Two could play at that game._

Hagi opened his eyes and looked at the door before him. It was all that kept him from her. In just a few moments this brief separation they had endured over the past few weeks would be over.

This distance between them had only made Hagi stronger. He had never realized that he was capable of loving someone as much as he loved Saya.

He grasped the door handle and turned. It was locked. He didn't have key. Saya had always kept the key.

So he knocked on the door and waited.

He heard footsteps approaching from inside the room. But he didn't recognize them. _Who…?_

The door opened slowly to reveal a short girl in her late teens. She looked up at him and her face flushed.

"Hey! What are you still doing here?" Her pouty voice registered in his brain.

The apartment owner's daughter. He remembered her from when she had come to collect the monthly rent from David or Lewis.

She twirled a strand of her artificial blond hair as looked him over. "I figured you had left with your friends!"

"They are gone?"

"Yeah, they checked out over a week ago! It's just little old me. Up here all by myself." She looked up at him suggestively. When he didn't respond she went on, "I was just doing a last minute check of the room before the new tenants move in tomorrow."

They were already gone. He'd come too late.

Disappointment filled him. He turned and walked back down the hall. Leaving the girl standing in the doorway.

He wondered around aimlessly for a while. His heart breaking.

Now he knew why he had been feeling strange when he tried to look for Saya. She on the other side of the globe. Back home, in Okinawa.

It was what his mind had been trying to tell his heart all along.

Nathan found him setting on the steps of an old music studio. Even though it was after midnight there were lights on inside. The subtle hum of the music was very claming. But Hagi didn't believe he looked clam.

He looked up when he heard footsteps halt before him and saw Nathan with a large white container hanging from one shoulder, looking at him curiously.

"I take it your reunion didn't go well."

Hagi didn't say anything.

Nathan sat down beside Hagi on the steps. He began humming along with the tune.

When the song ended they flowed seamlessly into another.

"Ah. Wounded Heart. How very appropriate at a time like this. Wouldn't you agree?"

"You know Grieg?" Hagi asked glumly.

"Of course. I've had many a dance to this song." When Hagi looked at him he asked. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Hagi looked down at the sidewalk. "She already left."

"They were gone. Huh? I hadn't realized it. I guess my ability to sense Saya isn't as strong as I though." He looked up at the sky.

"I should have known. I should have realized." His fingers began to twitch. He needed to do something with his hands. That was how he had always vented his frustrations. If only he had his cello…

Nathan noticed his agitation. "You play music, right?"

Hagi looked at him for a moment before answering hesitantly. "Yes. The cello." Why did it matter?

Nathan jumped up, bringing Hagi with him. "Come on! Lets go!"

Nathan marched down the street, dragging Hagi behind him.

-------------

Hagi's gazed was drawn to the large, glossy black piano in the corner of the room. In the amount of time he had been staying in Nathan's home, he had never come across this room.

Nathan's rambling and the loud thunks and bangs of tossed instrument cases barely registered in Hagi's thoughts.

"Where is it? I could have sworn I had a cello in here somewhere." Nathan's pouty face turned to Hagi. "I'm sorry. I was certain I have one but I can't seem to find it." He noticed Hagi's eyes and followed them to the piano. He smiled. "Lovely thing isn't it?"

"Yes." Hagi whispered.

"I've always had a fancy for the piano though. Probably because my…" He trailed off quietly, then changed the subject. "Have you ever played one?"

Hagi turned to him, he wanted to know what Nathan had begun to say, but he didn't press the issue. "Yes. It has been a while, though. When Saya and I still lived at the Zoo."

"You can play it if you want."

"No, I could not." Came a gentle decline.

"You aren't going to damage it if that's what you are thinking. Here!" Nathan appeared behind him and ushered him over to the bench. "Sit down." He growled, pushing him down.

Hagi stared at the polished white keys. He didn't even remember how to play. But Nathan only wanted to help. And if he didn't distract himself soon he might _really_ damage something. Like the house… again…

He lifted his hands above the keys and gently lowered them until his fingers rested on cool ivory. He wasn't worried about damaging it. His right hand had been neatly bandaged, so he could have full use of each finger, and he knew how to control his strength.

He simply played over each of the keys, committing to memory the sound of each individual note, occasionally he pressed down on one of the pedals with his foot. Slowly it came back to him, everything Saya had taught him about the piano.

He began playing the first song that come to his mind, Clair de Lune. It had been one of Saya's favorites.

As he neared the end of the song he heard the door open behind him. He hadn't been aware Nathan had left the room and now he was seated beside him, flipping through the pages of a book of sheet music. It was a very old book.

From his peripheral vision Hagi could see a delicate script, written in French, out to the side of some of the compositions.

_Notes? Taken by whom? _

He was sure he had seen Nathan's name on at least one page. And someone named… 'Lune'?

Nathan stopped on one page that had obviously been looked at often. The corner was folded down.

"Can you play this?" Nathan asked.

When Hagi nodded he set the book before him and he studied it. Beethoven's Moonlight Adagio sostenuto. He flowed almost seamlessly into the song as he finished.

He wondered why Nathan had chosen this song. Obviously it meant something to someone important. Perhaps his Queen? He could see the man's far off eyes as he hummed and swayed along with the melody.

When the song ended Nathan took the book to look for another song but Hagi didn't stop playing.

He began a gentle tune he had never played for anyone before. He could see the man's confused look as he watched. Slowly the melody began to grow into a slightly more expressive and loving sound.

Finally, it returned to the gentleness it had began with. His right hand drifting higher and higher up the keyboard. One note and a pause. Two notes and a pause. Each higher than the last. Two more. Pause. One note and slide across three, hands leaving the keys. The song faded into silence.

"That was nice." His single audience member said after a moment.

"It is supposed to be played with a violin accompaniment to feel the full affect." Hagi informed him.

"Well, I wouldn't have know. What's it called?"

"I don't have an official name for it yet."

Nathan's eyes lit up. "I figured you wrote it. It had 'Saya' written all over it!"

"I began composing it after I first met her. As a 'thank you' for her kindness but I could never finish it. I worked on it when Saya was sleeping, and this is what it grew into over time. I didn't have a piano to play it on before."

"A sonata of love." Nathan declared dreamily.

"It's not a sonata…"

"Quiet!"

-------------

A few hours later Hagi stood near the front window, looking out at the night sky.

He heard Nathan approach him from behind.

Hagi turned to face him. "May I ask you something about the book you had earlier?"

"Yes."

"Did it belong to you're Queen?"

He hesitated. "Sort of."

"Sort of?" Hagi was confused.

"It was my wife's."

"Wife?!"

Nathan laughed at the surprised expression on Hagi's face. "Yes. My wife. Looking at me now it may be hard to believe but I've had old fashioned values pounded in me."

"What happened to her?"

"I guess I owe you an answer, since I did promise to tell you." Nathan gave him a sad smile. He walked towards the hall way. "Well are you coming?"

Hagi squared his shoulders and he trailed quietly behind Nathan.

He had wanted to know more about Nathan since he had woken up. He had told him things about himself, answered Nathan's questions about his past, where he was from, what had happened to his arm, about his relationship with Saya… But Nathan had never told him anything about his own past, he had said he wasn't ready to talk about it yet. And now that he was going to tell him, Hagi wasn't sure he wanted to know. If it was that difficult to talk about, was it worth ripping open all those old wounds? Was it worth the pain Nathan was going to be putting himself through? He felt as if he was forcing Nathan to tell him.

Nathan opened a door and entered. Hagi stopped in the doorway and called quietly, "You do not have to tell me if you do not wish to do so. I will not mind."

Nathan sat in a large winged back chair by a wind. He motioned to another identical chair across from him. "I know that. Sit! I want to tell you. I've been thinking about it for a while now. I thought it would be easier after I thought about it for a while but now I realize, it will never get any easier… Not until I actually talk about it. Now you might want to sit. It is a long story."

Hagi slowly entered the room. In the dim light he could see shelves of books and old paintings covering the walls. It must have been a small study. Hagi sat down and waited.

Nathan leaned back and looked out at the moon hanging in the sky.

"It was a long time ago… My Father was the son a German painter but he had always wanted to live near the sea and become a merchant. So he moved to Marseilles, France. That's where he met my Mother. He was looking for work and her father owned a shipping company. He liked my Father, and humbly approved of their relationship. He left the business to my parents as a wedding gift before he died."

Hagi sat quietly, listening. He wasn't sure what this had to do with Chiropteran Queen's but he knew Nathan had his reasons.

"In 1768 my Father ran into some trouble, he was exhausting himself trying to take care of everything on his own. Mother didn't know much about ships so she suggested he find a new business partner." Nathan smiled. "He didn't know anyone he could trust enough to work with. Or that would have the experience. They were having some financial trouble and Mother had just informed him she was pregnant with me. So he became rather down. He was leaving the local pub when he met them."

"A man and woman, they were young. He had never seen anyone like them before, with their shiny black and oddly shaped eyes. They came up to him and asked if he knew where they could find a place to stay. The woman was pregnant. And Father was a kind man. He hated to send them off to a rat hole of an inn. He invited them to spend the night at his home."

"He spoke with the man that night and found they were from Japan. They became fast friends. He overheard my Father speaking to one of his men the next morning about the ships and asked him if he was looking for help. Father didn't know what to think. Like my Father, this man's passion was the sea. It was why he and his young wife had left their home. He had worked at the docks most of his life. But his father didn't approve of his desire to be a sailor nor his choice of a bride. He wanted him to go into the family business and marry some girl for wealth. So in the middle of the night they fled. They eloped and left the country."

"Father was thrilled that he had found someone who knew about ships and was trained to run a business. What luck. And he liked the him. He accepted his new friend's offer. Within weeks business was higher than it had been in months. And as a thank you, Father gave them one of the houses extra rooms to live in."

"A few months later, I was born. The same night, the man's wife had her child. A son. His name was Makoto, he was a lot like you actually, quiet, musical. The two of us were practically brothers. Inseparable. We helped our mothers run a homemaking trade form our home. Makoto's mother taught us Japanese. It was wonderful. Eighteen years and we thought life couldn't get any better. We didn't know how wrong we were until we met _them_." Nathan turned his eyes from the night sky to look at Hagi. He had a slight smile on his face. "The lovely Clariet sisters."

"It was the night of our eighteenth birthday in 1786. Our parents were hosting a party to celebrate our becoming adults. They invited all of the upper class citizens in Marseilles. As well as from other places in France, people he had done business with. They were hoping we would find suitable young women to court but he was also using the party to finalize a business deal."

"He had invited two young heiresses that ran a profitable wine industry in Bordeaux. They were barely eighteen but very smart. It was unheard of for such young people to run a business, let alone girls. But there had been no one else to take over when their mother had died. Actually, murdered would have been more suitable a term."

"Murdered? Why?" Hagi demanded, unable to keep the outrage from seeping through his voice.

"Their family were, social outcasts of sorts. No one wanted anything to do with them because of their peculiar, lifestyles. The only outside interaction they had was involved with the wine. People didn't approve of their having a woman in charge. They say he died before the girls were born. It was spoken amongst former buyers that the woman's appearances hadn't change in over ten years, and she looked too young to have children in that old. And their servants… did not know how to keep their mouths closed. They let slip in front of the wrong company of their… appetites. The accusations her being a vampire began floating around, soon after she killed when one of the barns on their estate caught fire. She died saving her daughters. Everyone claimed it was a horrible accident but the people responsible liked to brag too much."

Hagi let what Nathan had sink in. Peculiar appetites, unchanging appearances, vampires. "They were Chiropterans?" He took Nathan's smile as a 'yes'.

"Makoto and I were quite bored. The only interesting part of the night was that the daughters of the supposed vampire mistress were present but my Father had informed us that they had disappeared shortly after they had closed their deal. Makoto told me he was going for a walk and left. I began to walk around, just watching people when my eyes landed on the girl standing before the French window's overlooking the courtyard."

Nathan's eyes seemed to glaze over and his voice took on a dreamy tone. "She was the most beautiful thing I had ever gazed upon. With long hair, black as pitch, ruby red lips and eyes to match and her skin was so pale it made the full moon look dark. Lumina Clariet. The youngest of the two daughters."

"I approached her. She simply glanced at me and dismissed my presence. I spoke to her for a while but she ignored me. When I asked her for a dance she glared at me and said, '_Are you so thick headed that you can not even take a hint? I do not have any desire to speak to you. Do you think that just because you are Monsieur Mahler's son that I am going to submit to your advances?' _When I tried to say I was only being polite she replied_ 'Ha, unlikely!_' Then she turned and walked away. I followed her. The way she moved it was like an enchanting dance. She went towards the garden. I asked her where she was going and she told me I was a pompous fool that thought he had to know everything."

"Her behavior intrigued me. I later learned that she only acted that way because she was unused to others being polite to her and her sister. They had been very reclusive after their mother died, and my speaking to her had caught her off guard. Any ways, I was following her through the garden when she stopped, I nearly ran her over. Then I saw what she was looking at. Makoto was sitting on the edge of a large fountain, talking to a girl that was the spitting image of the girl beside me, the only difference was her eyes. I saw them when she turned to us. They were as blue as the ocean."

"She was the older twin. Lumina rushed to her side and pulled her away from Makoto. He looked like he'd been slapped. She introduced him to Lumina and said hello to me. Her name was Lunarie. Lumina told her they had to be going and she began pulling her older sister along behind her. She stuck her tongue out at me when she passed. Before they disappeared Lunarie looked back at Makoto and smiled and waved. And we both knew. It wouldn't be the last time we saw them. One glance and they had already stolen our hearts."

"They visited with my Father quite frequently on business. They used that as an excuse to come over and see us, well, Lunarie used it as an excuse to see Makoto. Lunarie was actually very friendly, Lumina was just over protective. She took to Makoto easily and eventually she began to warm up to me. Lune, that was Lunarie's nickname, told me Lumi, Lumina, was that way towards me because she liked me and was afraid she would get attached and then I would leave. It made sense, after what they had been through, I understood. But we reassured them we wouldn't go anywhere."

"Shortly afterwards we realized that the rumors about their unchanging appearance were true. We had known them for four years and they hadn't aged a day. But we did not care. We were in love with them and had been wooing them for some time."

Nathan stood from his chair. Hagi watched after him as he walked over to a painting depicting a view of a town as if from over water. Nathan pulled the frame from the wall and beneath it there was a hollowed out square.

Hagi laughed.

Nathan looked up at him as if dazed. "What's so funny?"

"The predictability of having a hidden compartment behind a frame."

Nathan chuckled at that. "Yes. But the predictability is what's so ingenious about it. It's so obvious that people completely dismiss the idea of it being there. Believe me, I would know."

He reached back in the compartment and pulled a slightly smaller square from it. It looked like a painting. Nathan looked down at it sadly before walking back to Hagi and holding it so he could look at it.

It was a portrait depicting four people. Two men and two women. Immediately Hagi recognized the blond man on the right side of the portrait. His image overlapped almost perfectly with the man before him, only his hair style was slightly different. The woman beside him, her arm wrapped around his elbow, had long slightly wavy black hair, pale skin and striking red eyes. The girl on her other side was her mirror image. Only here eyes were blue and her hair hung strait. But it was the man on left side of the portrait that captured Hagi's attention, he didn't know why but this man seemed so familiar some how. His faint smile, his reddish brown eyes, and the way his black hair fell in front of his face.

"That was after we became Chevaliers." Nathan told him quietly. Hagi could hear pain in his voice.

"_Both_ of you? What happened?" Hagi questioned breathlessly.

"Their mother's murderers learned of our relationship. They tried to stop us from seeing them. When their threats didn't work they thought the next best thing would be to off us as well. Better to have two dead men than two more vampires."

"It was a gloomy day in 1792. I was walking with Lunarie. We were going to meet Lumina and Makoto down by the ocean, some place private, just outside of the city. Lumi and I were setting them up a date."

"I believe the bullets were meant for my heart. But something threw off his aim. They didn't even stay to see if they finished the job. I don't remember much immediately afterwards… everything was black and so painful. I only remember something soft against my lips and liquid fire jumping down my throat. When I awoke Lunarie was leaning over me, apologizing. I didn't understand, I just knew I should have been dead and now I was alright. She just said she needed to find her sister, to explain to her. So I followed. I needed to find Makoto. If they were after me then they were surely after him too. I was right. They had already gotten to him. He was covered in blood when we found them. Asking Lumina what she had done to him."

"But I thought that Lumina was your Queen? She _is_ the one you were in love with?"

Nathan laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. "What happened that day was simply a 'with the wrong person at the wrong time' situation. The only reason they turned us was for the sake of each others happiness. Lumina saved Makoto for Lunarie. And Lunarie saved me for Lumina. Neither thought the other could live through another loss."

"They explained to us what they were, what we had become. They had no name for our kind then. They had never heard the word Chiropteran or Chevalier. They told us of their mother and father. How their father had died from ingesting a single drop of their mother's blood by accident, her pregnancy hadn't had time to affect her blood. She had told them how to create others of their kind. Male companions. They saw that as the only way to save us."

"They explained the attachment to a Queen we would now feel towards them. They kept apologizing because they had binded us to them 'against our will'. We didn't quite understand the attachment, sure we felt a connection to the one that turned us, but we still felt the same as before. I still loved Lumi and Makoto still loved Lune. That hadn't been affected."

"They were happy to hear this. They had never experienced anything like this before, and they had been afraid they had changed us more than just physically. They asked us to come with them. Of course we accepted."

"We knew we wouldn't be able to stay in Marseilles. People would notice when we didn't age and there was the risk those assailants seeing us again. That night we returned to our home and informed our parents we were leaving with the girls. Returning to their Chateau in Bordeaux. And we didn't know when we would come back."

"A few moths after we traveled to Paris. We were married. We didn't know anything about Chiropteran mating tendencies then, one Queen mates with her sister's Chevalier in order to produce offspring. So you can imagine what happened."

"Children…" Hagi mumbled.

"It was 1793. A year and a half later… Lumina and I welcomed our daughters into the world. Lunarie and Makoto's children had yet to be born. We were out walking the grounds. The girls had complained of being cooped up inside. The maid that had raised them was watching our girls."

Nathan's face darkened. His eyes looked dead. Hagi knew Nathan was nearing the end of his tale. His voice was emotionless when he began speaking. "We were on our way back when it happened. The mansion erupted into flames. Lumi took off into the inferno. What a time for my Chevalier instincts to kick in. I wanted to go after her, but all I could think of was protecting Lune. I couldn't break from the bond long enough to follow my heart, and I haven't forgiven myself for that. Makoto went in after her. Lune tried to go in but I got her as far away as I could. The house collapsed."

"They hadn't came out. Lune was in hysterics. I went to look for them, maybe they had come out the other side. I found the maid laying a few feet from the house. She was badly burned and fading. I asked if she had seen Lumina or Makoto. She saw them heading up the stairs just before the roof collapsed. With her dying breath she told me she was sorry she couldn't save our children."

"I caught wind of some strange sent coming form the forest. I followed it and found a group of men. It was the same ones that had tried to kill us, that had killed their mother." Nathan's eyes glowed faintly. "They had taken my family from me. So I killed them all. And I enjoyed ripping them limb from limb and drinking every last drop of blood from their veins."

"I returned to Lunarie. She was standing there watching the smoke and flames rising from the remains of our home. Afterwards I searched through the rubble but there was nothing there. No sign of them."

Hagi just listened. Trying to imagine what Nathan must have felt.

"I tried my best to help Lunarie. But she shut down. She had always been so bubbly. It was awful seeing her this way now. She wouldn't eat, she wouldn't sleep, she just walked around aimlessly. She had been close to giving birth before but the trauma… it threw everything off. It was like everything about her froze. We were in Paris when I lost her for a moment. She ran off. I do not know if she was aware of my following her or not. I just kept an eye on her from a distance."

Nathan was quiet for a few moments. He took the picture and returned it to the compartment behind the frame. The he walked over to the window and looked at the fading moon and stars once more.

When he began speaking again, Hagi knew this was the end of Nathan's tale.

"We ended up in Iceland in the middle of winter. I was too far behind to make it to her in time. She didn't know she was walking on ice. It broke beneath her feet. When she fell she hit her head. She didn't come back up. I searched and searched but never found her. I stayed for days, but she was gone. I've been alone ever since."

A long time passed before either of them said anything.

"I … I am sorry." Hagi finally choked out.

"It's over and done now. Nothing will change that." Nathan said in an oddly optimistic tone. As if he was enjoying an inside joke of some kind. He turned to Hagi. "Have you decided what you are going to do?"

"What?"

"About Saya. You have made you're decision haven't you?"

It took a second for Hagi to realize what he meant. "Oh. Yes."

"You're going to leave." Nathan looked down sadly. "I knew that was coming. I can't say that I am surprised. I approve, by the way. It's the least I can do, as a favor to her father."

"You knew Gorge?"

"Hm? No, not Miyagusuku. Her birth father."

"You knew her real father?"

Nathan smirked. "I never told you Makoto's family name, did I? It was Otonashi."

"Oton… What?!" Hagi jumped to his feet. "_He_ was Saya's father?"

"Yes. Makoto and Lunarie Otonashi's children are Saya and Diva. They really are the spitting image of their father."

It dawned on Hagi. The smile, the hair the eyes… That was why the man had looked familiar. Then he thought of something else, "But Red Shield gave Saya the name 'Otonashi'. When they sent her to Japan. How did they know? There is no way they could have guessed…" Hagi was rambling, shocked at this new information about his love.

"It was an inside job, of course." Nathan answered casually. "I figured if they were going to give her a name and ship her off to Japan, the name they gave her might as well have been her own."

"How?"

"I infiltrated Red Shield during the Vietnam war. I knew they were planning on waking Saya. I knew it was a bad idea. They had a back up plan in place incase Saya was unable to kill Diva. They were already going to send her to Okinawa, so they would have her near a U.S. base because of the suspected Military connection to the Chiropterans. They asked me to do research to find an uncommon name for her, so as not to draw attention to her. I didn't even have to think about it."

"I had been watching Amshel for some time, I saw how he was using Diva for his own means and I wanted to get rid of him, to make him suffer for manipulating the daughter of my Queen, and for misery he had caused her other daughter. I should have tried to stop them, but I wanted to get back at Amshel… It was why I had come there in the first place. I had a change of heart, but it was already too late. Saya had already killed everyone. I figured I would just disappear and try again. No one was going to notice if I went missing… What with all the Chiropterans running rampant and eating everyone. They wouldn't pay attention to _one _missing body."

"If you were their mother's Chevalier, why did you choose one over the other? Why did you choose Diva over Saya?"

"I already told you, I was after Amshel. Saya had you. She had had a family all along. People that loved her. Diva had no one. She had been alone all her life, locked away in that tower. Amshel pretended to care but he never really did. She was just a lab rat to him. And I came this close to getting him, too! But you interfered." He smiled evilly at Hagi.

Hagi shrunk back from him. "I did?"

"Yes. I knew Amshel wasn't dead after your fight. I knew he was close enough to hear so I asked Saya to kill me, knowing I wouldn't die. He wouldn't suspect anything, if he believed I was dead. I was hiding under the stage for him. I was about to make my move but you took Saya's sword and struck him down."

Nathan laughed. "He was lucky. Lucky you got to him before I did. You crystallized him and there were some remains left after the bombs hit. But if I had gotten my hands on him…" he growled, "Fire or no, there would have been _nothing_ left of Amshel Goldsmith."

Hagi realized he was holding his breath. He let it out in a shaky sigh.

"What about their mother's corps?" He asked. "In Joel's diary it said the mother's mummy was found a frozen in ice and it was over a thousand years old. Your Lunarie died not long before Joel found it. How is it possible they are the same?"

"I can only make an assumption on that." Hagi looked at him expectantly and he continued. "Lunarie was frozen. She couldn't move. When a Chiropteran becomes immobile their system shuts down to conserve energy until they can break free. But she was pregnant at the time. The children inside her womb would not have been affected like she was. Not immediately at least. They would continue to drain nutrients their mother like normal until she ran out before they would have been affected. I can only guess that the reason for her aged appearance was that the babies had completely drained her dry by the time Joel and Amshel found her making her body look older."

Hagi thought about that. It made sense. In a strange way.

"You had better get going." Nathan said cheerily. The man gave the term 'mood-swing' a whole new meaning.

"Hmm?"

"If you want to get to Saya before she goes to sleep you had better hurry. You have a long trip ahead of you."

Hagi stood. Nathan was right. He had a long way to go to get to Okinawa. And only a short amount of time.

-----------

Hagi was making his way towards the large front doors when Nathan called out to him.

"Here." he grabbed Hagi's hand and shoved a wad of money into it. "That should get you to Japan. There should be enough to rent a hotel or something here and there along the way. I still say it would be easier to fly the whole way…"

Hagi had refused to fly more than necessary. He would fly to Europe and find some other means of transport the rest of the way. "I do not like planes. Besides, all of the layovers would only slow me down. I can get there my own way. I need to be alone to think some things through."

"Suit your self." He grinned. "Saya wouldn't like it to much if all the pretty flight attendants were hitting on you anyway. But… here. Incase you change your mind!" He handed Hagi a little, dark red book.

Hagi opened it. It was his passport, the one David had given him on the way to New York. He was sure he had left it at the apartment the night of the Opera. "Where did you get this?" he asked annoyed.

"Don't ask, won't tell!"

Hagi glared at him for a moment then shook his head. He put the money and passport away and looked at Nathan. "I hate to leave you alone."

"I'll be fine. I've survived this long. Oh! Almost forgot!" He lifted a long, tubular case with a strap. "Saya's katana is in there. I've fixed it so it will go through undetected by security screenings. It just looks like an artists drawing storage container."

Hagi accepted it and placed it on his shoulder. "I… I will try to come and visit. Maybe you could come to Okinawa?" Hagi asked hopefully.

"That would be nice." He smiled "I'll have to come see my nieces!"

"Thank you."

"For what?" Nathan wasn't used to the emotion in Hagi's voice.

"For saving my life. For giving me a second chance to be with Saya. And for being a good friend." Hagi bowed.

"I could say the same to you… but I won't cause it sounds to mushy." He flipped his hand dramatically. Then pointed at the door. "Now get this romance novel on the road! Shoo, shoo!"

"Good bye, Nathan." He gave Nathan one of his rare smiles.

"See ya, Hagi. I wish you all the luck in the world."

Hagi turned back to the door and grasped the handle. As he was turning it Nathan added, "And I had darn well better get an invite to the wedding!" Hagi shook he head and opened the door.

He stepped out into the cool morning air just as the sun rose above the horizon.

--------------

Once the plane had landed at the airport in Paris Hagi had headed out on foot. He immediately went to his favorite place in the city. As he gazed upon the Eiffel Tower he milled over some of the thoughts floating around his mind.

Should he tell Saya what he know knew about her? Or should he let Nathan? That one was easy. Nathan should tell her about her parents. He knew them, had been their friend. _It is not my place to tell her such things._

That had been the easy part.

He couldn't decide what he was going to do when he arrived in Okinawa, what he would say to Saya. He was racking his brain, but he could come up with nothing.

But he had the rest of Europe and all of Asia to figure it out. He knew he had time. He could feel it. Saya was still a while from going to sleep.

He made good progress across Europe. It took only a few days for him to get to Russia. He was spending the night at an inn in Moscow when trouble began. It was only the end of September but if felt like the middle of winter. An out-of-season blizzard kept him trapped indoors for two days. And the weather didn't appear to be planning an improvement anytime soon. The entire country was experiencing hazardous conditions.

He had to change his travel plans. Normally he wouldn't have thought twice about going out into the raging weather. But he still didn't completely trust his strength. Normal weather he could handle. This was a challenge he did not want to risk losing.

He decided to retrace the steps they had traveled two years previous. On the Trans-Siberian Railway. It would take a week. But it was the only option he had.

In Vladivostok his luck changed. For the better. As he stepped out on to the platform just before noon, the snowy onslaught loosened its death grip. He didn't want to risk any more unexpected delays. So he followed Nathan's advise. As badly as he despised the idea, it would be best if he flew the rest of the way. If his wing had been completely repaired he would have flown himself. But the tendons and muscles in his left wing had yet to fully repair itself.

He made his way to Vladivostok International Airport. He remembered Mao mentioning Naha Airport in Okinawa. So that was where he had to go.

He had no idea how this was supposed to work. Nathan had told him how to book the first flight, from New York to Paris. But he didn't know what to ask now. He walked over to the desk and asked the lady for a ticket to Naha Airport.

"Sorry. There are no direct flights to Naha available." She replied, appraising him.

"There aren't?" He thought planes traveled anywhere. He was going to have to find another means of travel. "Thank you."

He was about to turn and walk away when she said, "We do offer a connection flight."

He looked up at her. Her fingers were flying over the keys of her computer.

"We can get you to Niigata Airport via Vladivostok Air. Once there, you can connect with the All Nippon Airways flight to Naha Airport in Okinawa. It's the most direct route. Niigata only offers one flight per season to Naha and it leaves this evening. You'll have to leave right now to make the connection to Naha.

"Alright."

She printed out his ticket and he paid her. "Your flight leaves in 2 hours. You can take a seat and wait."

As he was walking away she called after him. "My shift ends in 15 minutes! You want to grab a coffee?"

He sighed. _Why must this always happen everywhere I go?_

--------

It was all he could do not to run to the terminal when it was time for his departure.

He boarded the flight and settled in for the wait. A few hours later, the plane landed in Japan.

The Niigata Airport was not much different than Vladivostok's. It was busier, though. He found the ticket desk and purchased a ticket to Naha Airport.

He studied the slip of paper. The departure time was 7:45PM. He looked up at the clock in the waiting area. 5:00PM. The board said that the estimated arrival time was 9 o'clock. _Four hours. _That was all that separated him from Saya.

It was like everything sped up. The next thing he knew he was walking out of the Naha Airport. If the sliding airport doors had been any slower he was sure he would have knocked them off their tracks.

Once he cleared the Naha city limits he ran. As fast as his Chevalier abilities allowed. Through forest, over buildings, he didn't stop till he was in Okinawa City.

He passed the spot on the beach that Saya so loved. The school where, in this new life, she had first encountered a Chiropteran, the place where their lips had met for the first time.

He was walking down Park Avenue. Here he had played his cello for shoppers when he had first come to Okinawa in search of Saya two years ago. He remembered how she had fallen in the flower bed across the street. He looked over and could almost see Saya's red face rising up from the greenery. That look of embarrassment on her face when she had noticed him staring at her. She had ran off dragging Riku with her.

When he turned to continue walking he froze. He had recalled that there had been a flower shop where he had set up, and the place was obviously closed. But what halted him in his tracks was the sight of two rose bushes sitting outside the shop on either side of the door. One red one. And one pink one.

_Saya's favorite color._

As he stared at the roses, the first time he brought Saya a rose overtook him.

_Her lovely face pinched up into a frown. "_I don't like roses in this color! Go and get me a red one!" _She turned away from him._

_He watched her for a moment. If she didn't like pink why was it that all she ever wore were pink dresses? He didn't like her smug attitude. "_You can get it yourself."

_That got her. She looked at him over her shoulder with a look like she was struck. She turned to face him and stalked towards him, stopping a few feet from him. _"What makes you think you can talk to me like that!?"

"If you don't like it, do not talk to me." _He dropped the rose on the floor and turned an exited the room. He heard her growl after him._

_The next day, when she had invited him back to her room for cello lessons, he had been astonished to see that she had kept the flower. She had it placed in a vase on the mantle as if it were a prized possession._

He smiled at the memory of what had happened a few days later.

_They were sitting near the lake, watching the swans and ducks. Saya had finished her fencing lesson and had changed back into her normal attire. She was stretched out next to him on the grass._

_He was still on his high from her words earlier that day. "Someday I'm going to travel the world. And I'll carry a sword with me! Just like all the heroes and adventurers in the books I've read! And I want you by my side Hagi!" He just couldn't get over those words. Someone actually wanted him around._

"Hagi?" _Her soft voice broke his reverie. _

"Hm?" _He looked down into a pair of reddish-brown eyes._

"Will… will you bring me a bouquet of roses?" _She sounded slightly embarrassed._

"If that is what you wish, Saya." _He got to his feet. _"I'll go find you some red roses."

_In the time it took him to take one step Saya had shot up like lightning. She was still sitting on the ground, but her arm was extended out to him. Her fingers pinching onto the hem of his sleeve. _"Um. No I want pink roses."

"But I thought you didn't like pink, Saya." _What had caused the sudden change?_

_She crossed her arms and stated matter-of-factly, as if it were obvious. _"Silly boy! Of course I like pink roses. Pink _is_ my favorite color after all."

_All Hagi could do was smile._

He had a similar smile on his face at that moment. He walked over to the pink rose bush and plucked one lovely bloom. He brought it to his face to smell its sweet aroma.

He would give this to Saya. He walked with renewed strength and determination down the street. With one effortless bound he was in the air. He feet barely made contact with the roof of a building before he sprang again.

He had a strange feeling in his heart. _It must be nerves. _He still didn't know what he was going to say when he got to her. He was never at a loss of words like he was now. It made him uneasy.

_There!_

Omoro. The pub Saya now called home.

He came down soundlessly onto the chain link fence surrounding the park across the street from her home. Strange. His keen eyes saw clearly through the front window. There were a lot of people there. Saya and Kai's friends from the beach. Everyone from the Red Shield.

It seemed odd for so many people to be there at such a late hour. It had to be past midnight.

Saya wasn't there. _Where could she be?_

A light came on upstairs. It was her room. He was sure of that. He had seen her through the window the last time he was here, keeping an eye on her to ensure she stayed out of trouble.

The curtain covering the window was pulled. He saw a shadow move across it before it disappeared and the light flickered out. She must be tired and gone to bed.

"Saya…" He whispered.

He was suddenly overcome with emotion. He knew now that nothing else mattered. Nothing but Saya. The pain they had endured, the battles they lived through, they were nothing but a bad memory, a whisper in the breeze. And the past few weeks they had been apart didn't mean anything and it didn't matter that he didn't know what to say anymore.

All he knew was that he loved her and wanted to be with her. _"I want to be with you…" _her words from the Met assaulted his mind repeatedly. If she still wanted him, if she hadn't changed her mind, he would not deny her of her wish. _Because Saya's wishes are my wishes,_ he thought with a smile.

With the rose tucked safely in his pocket, he leapt, landing nimblely on the roof of the restaurant. He dropped down on to her window sill, it was open just slightly. He could get in easily. He slid the glass back quietly and pulled the curtain away, crawling inside. "Saya?"

She wasn't there. In the dim light he could see the room was empty. He could hear a baby crying.

_It must be one of the twins. Maybe she went to check on them._ Hagi stepped down off the bed and his eyes landed on a coffin shaped box on the floor beside the bed.

_My cello. _

He lifted it up. As he laid it on the bed something black fell off of it. He lifted it off the floor and immediately recognized it as his coat.

He had missed this old thing for some reason, maybe because Saya had always seemed to like it. And he had left the coat he was wearing at the airport… so he decided to put it on. Laying the rose on the bed sheets as he slipped into the coat. Having it on made him feel much better, more at home, but it didn't calm the nagging feeling inside him.

He opened his cello case. Someone had taken good care of the cello. _Saya. _His hand went to the lid, to the compartment that held Saya's katana. He flipped the button, the doors snapping open. The strap from the container slid down his arm and grasped the lid and opened it, he was still amazed he had been able to smuggle it on board the plane. He reached inside it and took hold of the hilt of the katana, pulling it from the makeshift storage container. The katana's sheath was already inside the compartment in the cello case. He removed it and gently slid the steel blade into its cover and placed it back where it belonged.

As the lid came down and clicked close, he heard footsteps outside the door. The soft thump of a hand coming to rest on the door.

"Lulu… she isn't in there… Go back downstairs…" Kai's broken voice called from down the hall.

"Huh? But then who's in…" the slightly muffled voice of Lulu called from outside the door. "Are… are you crying? What do you mean she's not in there?"

"She's gone, Lulu." Kai mumbled.

"What do you mean 'gone'?"

"No…" Hagi whispered to himself. It hadn't been nerves… it was the same as the apartment… his body had been trying to tell him…

"She's asleep…" His voice cracked on the last word. "I just got back from the tomb."

"But… wha… WHY?!" he could hear the tears in her voice. "She didn't even say 'goodbye'!"

_No… no… no… _She couldn't be gone. He pulled the cello case off the bed with such force it nearly pulled the sheets off the bed with it. That's when the white garment that had been beneath the cello on bed caught his eye. His old button down shirt. It was wrinkled and the sleeves had been rolled up. He set the case aside and lifted the shirt up, looking at it. A strong, familiar, sweet sent filled his senses. It smelt like Saya.

_Saya's… been wearing it? _Had she really missed him that much?

He dropped the shirt back on the bed and hefted the cello up onto his shoulder with one hand, his other clenching the rose. He climbed back up on the bed to go back out the window.

He knew where the tomb was. He could get there in just a few minutes, maybe he wasn't too late.

"What was that?" he faintly heard Lulu's small voice behind him.

He was already standing up on the sill, preparing to jump. Bending his knees slightly, he sprang from the window just as he heard the door slid forcefully open and her excited voice call behind him, "HAGI!?"

But he was already gone.

He was moving so fast everything was blurred.

He landed on the uneven stones of the shrine's floor and immediately rushed inside. The resounding thunk of the cello hitting the floor echoed so loudly, if someone had been standing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the tomb they could have heard it.

There she was.

Curled up peacefully inside her cocoon. She was already sleeping. She was so beautiful when she slept. She looked like the girl in that story she used to read all the time, back at the Zoo. About a sleeping princess.

He walked over to her and looked in at her. The cocoon was already slowly beginning to weave itself close. He gazed at her lovingly. Yes. So beautiful. Her long black lashes brushed the pale skin beneath her eyes. Her lips were pursed slightly. She'd cut her hair. He absently wondered if, when she woke up next time, she would cut her hair short again or let if grow out long like it used to be. She didn't have to fight anymore so it wouldn't be in the way.

He placed his human hand inside the cocoon, resting it against her cheek softly. Her sleeping form leaned into the caress.

"Saya…" At the sound of his voice he saw her eyes darting his direction from behind her closed lids.

He knew that even after she fell asleep, for a short period of time, she was still aware of her surroundings, she could still hear what was said to her, even if she didn't recall it later or thought it was just a dream. She had told him things that she had heard before, things he had said to her after he thought she was sleeping.

He could talk to her for a few moments, before she entered her deep slumber. He could let her know he was alright, that he was still with her. "Saya, I'm here. I am alive. I am sorry I could not make it here in time."

She moved restlessly. "I'm still here and I am not going anywhere. I will not leave you again."

He leaned his upper body in to hers, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He felt something warm running down his face. His right had came up to wipe it away. He was crying? Except for that night at the Met, he hadn't since he was a child.

But these were not the happy tears they had been the night in New York. His heart was breaking. He had been too late. Again.

When he pulled back, a single drop of water fell from his chin. It landed lightly on Saya's cheek and her face took on a pained expression. Did she know he was sad?

With the back of his human hand he gently brushed the tear away and her face smoothed back over.

"I will always love you, Saya." At his words the corners of her mouth pulled up into a beautiful smile. "Sleep well, love. I will be here when you wake up. I promise."

When he stepped back he remembered the rose. He had dropped it when he dropped the cello. He picked it up and brought it over to his sleeping Queen and gently placed it in her limp hand. Clasping her fingers around it. He knew the cocoon would dissolve it, just as it always had her clothes. But at least she had it for now.

With one final kiss goodbye pressed to her forehead. He turned and exited the tomb.

With each step, a new fissure appeared in each piece of his already shattered heart.

---------

Hagi had no idea how long he had been walking. He just looked up and saw that he was at her favorite spot on the beach again. The large rock jutting out of the sand and water. He decided to stay and watch the sunrise. He sat down on the breakwater wall and gazed out at the ocean. The light of the moon was beautiful dancing on the waves.

He was aware of the sound of shoes scuffing concrete behind him. Suddenly Lulu was seated beside him on the wall. "It's really pretty, huh?" He nodded slightly and she continued. "I usually sneak out at night when Kai and Saya are sleeping and come here to watch it. Since I can't come out in the day… Or when I'm at Julia-san's clinic. It get boring staying there all day."

"You're going away, aren't you?" No answer. "I guess that's a 'yes'." She looked up at him hopefully, "But you'll come back, right?"

He wanted to answer but couldn't. He couldn't bare the pain.

"Hagi! Please come back." Lulu sounded like she was crying. "The others will be happy to see you! We all missed you, especially Saya. Kai said you could stay, remember? Saya would want you to!"

Hagi stopped breathing.

"Everyone thought you were dead. I told them you were alive when we were in New York. But they didn't believe me but then some man said he saw you. They thought I was just imagining you tonight because of Saya."

He looked down at her sadly.

"Please… stay?"

"I can not."

"Why? You will be near Saya."

"It is to painful. Knowing how close I am to her and not being able to be with her." Everything in this place reminded him of Saya. He could not bare it. He had to go.

"Well, if… you don't want to stay… will you at least come by and say 'hi' sometime?" She said sadly.

"Yes. I will try. I will not be able to stay away for long. But I can not stay here."

"I understand. I'll keep an eye on her for you. We all will. And I'll see you then! I can give you an update on what's been going on while you were away! And when you visit, you can teach me to play the cello!"

He didn't know if he could do that, the mere thought of it brought up to many memories. But she didn't wait for his reply.

"It'll be fun!"

"Do not tell the others I was here."

"Why?" She frowned.

"I do not want them looking for me."

"That won't stop them, you know? They promised Saya they would. They're all set on it. They're worried about you too."

He didn't say anything.

"If you're not going to stay, what are you going to do."

"Travel." That was what he always did when Saya slept. Since they didn't have to fight, maybe they could finally see the world like they had always wanted. While she was sleeping, he would look for places they could go to when she awoke. That would keep his mind occupied.

"Alright." She stood up. "I have to go now, before the sun comes up. I'll see you soon okay?"

He nodded. A gasp escaped his throat when he felt her thin arms wrap around his neck. "Promise me you'll come back. You have too."

He closed his eyes and sighed. "I will."

"Be careful. I'll miss you." Then Lulu was gone.

He looked after her as she ran back down the street. Once he was sure she had had enough time to arrive back at Omoro he stood up himself.

The first rays of morning light broke the horizon. He stepped down off the wall and began to walk. He had a job to do now. Places to go. But he would come back. He would not break the promise he made to Lulu. Nor would he break his promise to Saya. He would come to visit them as often as he could and he would be there when she woke up.

He couldn't stay away from his home. His home was wherever his heart was.

And his heart was with Saya.

Resting beside the ocean in the green hills of Okinawa.

* * *

**A/N: **Sigh! Finished… I miss it already… I'm going to go sit in my corner now…

Kind of a sappy ending in my opinion but it's really all I could come up with… it fit better than anything else did. And hey I ain't complaining, I like sappy^^ (seriously hopeless romantic/fluff addict)

I know some of the small details are different. I used the novel for some references rather than everything from the anime. Like the scene on Park Avenue. In the novel she was with Riku. I liked this scene better form the novel so I went with it! And the kiss thing. In the novel Saya didn't give Hagi her blood via mouth to mouth. She let it drip from her hand into his mouth or into the wound or something… so the school incident was literally their first kiss. And Hagi really did cry in the Met scene cause he was happy. I thought it was sweet! That whole scene was way better in the novel than the show… sad to say.

I love Nathan. He's had it rough. Poor guy. Nathan has stuff up his frilly sleeves though, so he's not as bummed as he acts. I looked up Mahler on a family name website and it said it originated in Germany and meant something related to painter or artistic person, something like that. I had the others names in my head before I even began the story, quite a looong time ago. The girls names were fun! I love French language. Lunarie means lunar and Lumina is a variation of Luminarie meaning lights/lightning(I didn't even realize this one, I just thought it sounded pretty and when I was looking in the dictionary I found it), I liked them because they gave the impression of paleness. Their last name Clariet is supposed to mean something along the lines of pale colored wine. I thought it was a good B+ reference. And Makoto is Japanese for truth/sincerity. I was looking through my Japanese dictionary and I saw the word and thought that would be a good name. It stuck with me and when I figured out the names for the girls that hit me as a name for Saya's dad.

The song Hagi played is Saya's Love. It's number 13 on vol. 1 of the Blood+ soundtrack. It's by Mark Mancina. I love it! I could listen to it for hours! I just thought it would be romantic to pretend Hagi composed it for her. If you've never heard it it's in several episodes. Two that I remember off the top of my head are: when Saya's talking to Minn and remembering her first kiss with Hagi, and when she and Hagi are at the Zoo and she's remembering when they were in the barn.

I had to do a lot of technology research for this thing. Like I was going to say Nathan had a photo instead of a painting. But I learned the hard way that photos weren't invented 'til in the 1830s (photos that lasted anyways, before then, photos faded after a few hours. They couldn't get the image to stay until in 1830s). And I had to look up on train stations in Russia, that wasn't so bad, since it was in the show. But finding an air port that went from Vladivostok to Naha wasn't. I had to look for connection flights… it took a while. But I go it done. Oh, about the seasonal thing. On the Niigata airport destinations list it said Naha [seasonal]. I took that to mean that they only fly there once each season. So if I got something wrong in all that, oopsy! I tried my best to get it right.

If there's anything that confused you any where in the story feel free to PM me or comment. I turned on anonymous reviews so everyone can drop by and say 'hi'! See ya later^^ Reviews please!


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